IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANTONY DOMINIC THURSDAY, THE 10TH JANUARY 2008 / 20TH POUSHA 1929 WP(C).No. 1147 of 2008(J) ------------------------- PETITIONER: --------------- VISHNU PRIYA(MINOR), AGED 14 YEARS, D/O BALA MURALI, REP. BY HER FATHER AND GUARDIAN, BALAMURALI, AGED 39 YEARS, S/O CHANDRASEKHARAN, SIVAM, THEJUS NAGAR, PAZHAVEEDU, ALAPPUZHA. BY ADV. SRI.GEORGE MATHEW RESPONDENTS: ------------------ 1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, EDUCATION, GOVT. SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTIONS, D.P.I. OFFICE VAZHUTHAKKADU, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 3. DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, ALAPPUZHA. 4. GENERAL CONVENOR, ALAPPUZHA REVENUE DISTRICT SCHOOL KALOLSAVAM 2007-2008, HELD AT GOVT. GIRLS' HSS, CHERTHALA. 5. MAHALAKSHMI(MINOR)STUDENT, SCUGVHSS, PATTANAKKAD, CHERTHALA, REP. BY GUARDIAN SUBROMONIAN, MAHAMANDIRATHIL, KALAMASSERY, ERNAKULAM. BY GOVT.PLEADER SRI.I.V.PRAMOD THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 10/01/2008, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: ANTONY DOMINIC, J. =============== W.P.(C) NO. 1147 OF 2008 J ===================== Dated this the 10th day of January, 2008 J U D G M E N T The petitioner was a participant in the Mohiniyattam, in which she has secured second prize with A grade. It is stated that aggrieved by the ranking, she filed and appeal, however the result of the appeal has not been communicated. It is on that premise this writ petition has been filed praying for an order permitting her to participate in the State School Youth Festival Competition. Learned counsel for the petitioner contend that appeal has not been disposed of even as of now. 2. Learned Government pleader on instructions submits that appeal has been considered and the same has been rejected. It is also pointed out by the learned Government Pleader that all the three judges have uniformly assessed first prize winner to be superior to the petitioner and that the difference in the total WPC 1147/08 :2 : marks is only three. 3. Yet another contention raised by the petitioner is regarding the partiality of the judges. It is contended that the 5th respondent has secured first prize. It is submitted that the instructor of the 5th respondent was the colleague of one of the judges and therefore the judge had favoured the 5th respondent. This is a wild submission and I am not prepared to take it at its face value. The fact that an instructor and a judge were colleagues by itself does not lead to an inference touching open the impartiality of the judge concerned. In the absence of any materials, this argument is only to be stated and rejected. 4. Yet another contention that was raised was during the course of the performance, the child in question had suffered an injury and that affected her performance. It is stated that the authorities ought to have provided a safe stage for the performance of the child and that in the absence of which, the child cannot be faulted even if the performance was not up to the mark. I am not prepared to accept this contention either. If the child had infact suffered an injury as contended by the petitioner, WPC 1147/08 :3 : they could have asked for yet another opportunity to prove their merit and this has not been done and on the other hand, the petitioner opted to continue the performance. Therefore, they cannot be allowed to turn around and contend that the injury has affected her performance. Writ petition fails and is dismissed. ANTONY DOMINIC, JUDGE. Rp