The single bench had directed CBSE on June 12 to declare the results before or on June 29 at 5 pm. (Representational)
Just a day before the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was expected to announce the results of the re-evaluated papers of Class X and Class XII students, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday put a stay on the deadline ordered by a High Court single bench for the declaration of results.
The single bench had directed CBSE on June 12 to declare the results before or on June 29 at 5 pm after the counsel, representing some students of Bhawan Vidyalaya School, Sector 27, had challenged the schedule issued by CBSE for the verification and re-evaluation of the marks. The Class XII students, who appeared in the examination in March, were seeking re-evaluation of the answer sheets of their English paper.
While the CBSE on May 31 had come out with a detailed notification for the verification and re-evaluation of the papers, advocate Baltej Singh Sidhu had argued on behalf of the students that the CBSE had failed to provide a date for the declaration of results and the delay would affect the admission of students at the college level.
On Thursday, the CBSE, through its counsel Nitin Kant Setia, before the division bench of Justices Ajay Tiwari and Mahabir Singh Sindhu, sought that the deadline fixed by the single bench be set aside. The counsel argued that the judiciary should not have exercised its powers in such a manner as the process was completely an academic exercise.
The division bench was informed that nearly 3,500 students, belonging to Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, had applied for the re-evaluation. The CBSE also argued that it would be discrimination with the students from other parts of the country and those who have not moved court in case the results of the petitioner students are declared earlier than others.
The CBSE also argued that in case the students, who approached the High Court, were given preference, it would also have an impact on the admission of all the students at the college level. “It is a discrimination we have been asked to do,” the court was told by the CBSE.
The students last month following the declaration of the annual results held a protest demanding rechecking of their papers alleging that they had been provided less marks. The CBSE, in its notification on May 31, had announced a schedule for verification of papers, obtaining photocopies of answer sheets as well as for the re-evaluation of papers.