1 FARAD CONTINUATION SHEET NO. IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO. 966 OF 2010 WITH WRIT PETITION NO.1159 OF 2010 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Office Notes, Office Memoranda of | Coram, appearances, Court’s orders | Court’s or Judge’s or directions and Registrar’s | orders orders | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Mr. V.M. Kagne, Advocate for the petitioner in W.P No.966/2010. Mr. S.S. Halkude, Advocate for the petitioners in W.P. No.1159/2010. Mr. V.D. Godbharle, A.G.P. for respondent No.1 in both petitions. Mr. V.R. Sonwalkar, Advocate for respondent No.2 in both petitions. Mr. N.P.Kendre, Advocate for respondent No.3 in W.P. No.966/2010. CORAM : A.M. KHANWILKAR, AND S.S. SHINDE, JJ. DATE : 18TH FEBRUARY, 2010 In both these petitions, the grievance made before us is that for reasons beyond the control of the petitioners in respective petitions, examination form of the concerned petitioners remained to be forwarded to the Board and for which reason, the 2 petitioners are being denied hall tickets for appearing for ensuing examination. 2. We have considered the grievance made in these petitions but will have to express our inability to give any relief to the petitioners, even though we have full sympathy for them. For, the relevant portion of Proviso under Clause (2) of Regulation 93 reads thus : "Provided also that it shall be competent for the Chairman, State Board to accept an application form of a candidate upto 30 days prior to the date of the commencement of examination, if the delay in making the application is caused for any of the following reasons, namely:- (a) prolonged illness of the candidate; (b) sudden demise of parents of the candidate; (c) Unforseen reasons which compel the candidate to go outstation or abroad for along period; (d) natural calamities; and (e) any other reasons which 3 are genuine in their nature." 3. Admittedly, the last date for the candidates for submission of examination form with regular examination fees to the school was 10-10-2009. The last date for submission of examination form to the Board by school with regular fees was 21-10-2009. The last date for submission of examination forms for the candidates alongwith late fees Rs.25/- to the school was 21-10-2009 and date for school to submit examination form to the Board alongwith late fees Rs.25/-was 28-10-2009. There is only one exception to that, as provided in proviso, which is reproduced earlier. This proviso is an enabling provision empowering the Chairman to entertain or accept application form of a candidate upto 30 days prior to the date of commencement of examination for reasons specified therein. We will assume that reasons indicated by the petitioners in respective petitions are covered by the 4 said specified grounds under the proviso. The fact remains that proviso mandates the acceptance of application form by the Chairman upto 30 days prior to date of commencement of the examination. In the present case, practical examination has already commenced in respective Colleges long back and in fact written examination would start from 23-02-2010. Thus understood, the Chairman will have no power to entertain any application form of a candidate as remaining period for commencement of examination is far less than 30 days as required by the proviso. 4. Counsel for the petitioners submitted that Court should take sympathetic view and issue direction to the appropriate authority to accept the application form of the petitioners herein, in the peculiar facts of the present case. As aforesaid, although we may express full sympathy for the 5 petitioners, we cannot issue direction to appropriate authority which would run inconsistent with the provision in Regulation which has been framed in exercise of power under Section 36 of the Maharashtra Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Boards Act, 1965. 5. Indubitably, there is no time left for scrutiny of the forms to ascertain whether the candidate is eligible to appear in the examination. As aforesaid, even the practical examination is over in the respective Colleges. Counsel appearing for the petitioners placed reliance on the unreported decision of the Division Bench of our High Court in the case of Kalpana s/o Achyutrao Ghute vs. The Secretary, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Pune, Aurangabad Division, Aurangabad decided on 13-02-2009 in Writ Petition No. 1036 of 2009. It was argued 6 that even in that case for no fault of the petitioner, her name was excluded by her College from the list of candidates who were eligible to appear for examination. The Court came to the aid of the petitioner therein and issued direction to the Board and appropriate authority to accept the application form, alongwith late fees. This decision in first place cannot be cited as precedent. Besides, it makes no reference to the Regulation to which our attention has been invited. This Court cannot direct the Chairman or other appropriate authority of the Board to accept the application contrary to the provisions of Regulation in force and that too without even ascertaining their eligibility. The powers of the Chairman are circumscribed by the proviso to Regulation 93 to which we have already made reference. 6. Taking over all view of the matter, 7 the petitions are dismissed. We however, keep the remedy of the petitioners to pursue relief against the Colleges for their inaction open. Those proceedings will have to be decided on its own merits. ( S.S. SHINDE, J. ) (A.M. KHANWILKAR,J.) sut/FEB10/wp966.10