1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY, BENCH AT AURANGABAD WRIT PETITION NO.7232 OF 2010 Shrikant s/o Shrinivas Malani, Age 19 years, Occupation - Student, R/o Flat No.2, Chaitanya Apartment, Kharakuwa, Aurangabad ..PETITIONER VERSUS 1. Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Divisional Board, Aurangabad, Station Road, Osmanpura, Aurangabad, through its Secretary 2. S.B.E.S.'s College of Arts and Commerce, Aurangabad, through it's Principal ..RESPONDENTS Ms Surekha Mahajan, Advocate for the petitioner; Mr D.V. Soman, Advocate for respondent no.1; Mr A.R. Joshi, Advocate for respondent no.2. CORAM : P.V. HARDAS AND N.D. DESHPANDE, JJ DATE : 17th August, 2010 ORAL JUDGMENT [ PER P.V. HARDAS , J ] Rule. Rule returnable forthwith. With the consent of learned Counsel for the parties this petition is heard finally at the stage of admission. 2 2. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner prays for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing respondent no.1 to correct the original mark-sheet of the petitioner for 2010 examination held in February/March and to declare the petitioner as "passed" instead of "fail". 3. Such of the facts as are necessary for the decision of this petition may briefly be stated thus :- The petitioner passed his 10th standard examination securing 59.60% marks and thereafter passed his 11th (Commerce) standard examination. For the academic year 2008-09 the petitioner took admission in the 12th standard. However, on account of ill health and thereafter on account of demise of his grand-mother he could not appear for the said examination. The petitioner, therefore, chose to appear for the 12th standard examination as an "external student" and accordingly submitted the necessary form and appeared for the said examination in February, 2010. It appears that pursuant to the declaration of the results a marks memo came to be issued in which in respect of Environment Education (Grade) the petitioner was shown as absent. We are informed that the examination for Environment Education is an examination conducted by the institute and the necessary grade secured by a candidate is 3 forwarded to the respondent - Board. Accordingly the respondent - management had forwarded the list of the candidates who had appeared for the examination and had also disclosed the grade secured by each of them. In respect of the petitioner the Board was informed by the respondent management that the petitioner was absent for the examination. The respondent Board, therefore, while issuing the marks memo has shown the petitioner as absent in respect of Environment Education. 4. In response to the notice issued by us, the Board has filed its affidavit in reply and in the affidavit in reply the anguish of the Board is clearly discernible. According to the respondent Board, unscrupulous candidates who had, in fact, remained absent for such paper, might secure a communication from the management showing that they were present, whereas in fact they might have been absent. The respondent management has filed its affidavit in reply and in the affidavit in reply the respondent management states that the petitioner had, in fact, appeared for the internal examination of Environment Education and had secured "B" grade, but inadvertently while submitting the list of the candidates along with their grades the petitioner was marked as absent. 4 5. It is true that a trickster student may with the assistance of unscrupulous management submit the necessary documents regarding the attendance at the examination though he may not have , in fact, attended such an examination. However, in the present case there is nothing to indicate that the affidavit submitted by the respondent management is either erroneous or false. In that light of the matter, therefore, we have no other alternative but to accept the affidavit submitted by the respondent management. 6. We, therefore, accordingly allow this petition and direct the Board to issue a correct marks memo as per the grade of the petitioner as disclosed by the respondent school and to declare the petitioner as "passed" instead of "failed". 7. Rule made absolute on the above terms with no order as to costs. ( N.D. DESHPANDE ) ( P.V.HARDAS ) JUDGE JUDGE amj/wp7232.10