Court Orders Reevaluation of Science Marks Without Altering Mathematics Scores
The Gauhati High Court has issued a directive to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to adhere strictly to procedural guidelines during the reevaluation process of examination marks. The order was delivered by Justice Nelson Sailo in the case of Bijoy Kumar Biswakarma v. Central Board of Secondary Education, responding to a petition filed by Bijoy Kumar Biswakarma concerning the reevaluation of his son's examination results.
The petitioner challenged the CBSE's action of reallocating grace marks from Mathematics to Science without a formal reevaluation request for the Mathematics subject. Initially, Biswakarma's son had failed the Science subject in the Secondary School Examination, 2025, scoring 31 marks. Upon requesting a reevaluation, his Science marks were increased, passing him in the subject. However, this adjustment led to a reduction in his Mathematics marks, resulting in a fail grade in that subject.
The court found CBSE's practice of adjusting marks across subjects without specific reevaluation requests to be in violation of procedural guidelines. Justice Sailo emphasized that reevaluation must be confined to the subject for which it is sought, and any alteration of marks in other subjects without an application is impermissible.
In its defense, CBSE argued the policy allowed for grace marks to be awarded in a manner that best benefits the student's overall result. However, the court found no evidence supporting the reallocation of marks as a policy requirement and determined that CBSE's actions were inconsistent with its own guidelines.
The court has directed CBSE to conduct a reevaluation of the Science marks without altering the Mathematics scores and to issue a revised mark-sheet accordingly. The judgment underscores the importance of maintaining transparency and adherence to procedural norms in educational assessments.
Bottom Line:
Reevaluation of marks must be confined to the subject for which reevaluation is sought; altering marks of other subjects without application for reevaluation is impermissible.
Statutory provision(s): CBSE Reevaluation Guidelines
