IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE C.N.RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.S.GOPINATHAN FRIDAY, THE 12TH AUGUST 2011 / 21ST SRAVANA 1933 WA.No. 525 of 2011() -------------------- AGAINST THE JUDGEMENT IN WPC.2700/2011 Dated 21/02/2011 .................... APPELLANT/PETITIONER ------------------------ KELU BHAGAVAT,(MINOR REPRESENTED BY THE MOTHER AND GUARDIAN C.LATHIKA) 42/1804-C, ST.BENEDIT ROAD,ERNAKULAM-682 018. BY ADV. SRI.G.BHAGAVAT SINGH RESPONDENTS: RESPONDENTS ------------------------- 1. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, JAGATHY, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - 695 014. 2. STATE OF KERALA REP.BY THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL EDUCATION, SECRETARIAT,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM.695 001. GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT. T.B. RAMANI. THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 12/08/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: W.A. 525/2011 APPENDIX ANNEXURE-1: ENGLISH GTRANSLATION OF EXT.P5 APPEAL. // TRUE COPY // P.S. TO JUDGE. knc/- C.N. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR & P.S. GOPINATHAN, JJ. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = W.A. 525 OF 2011 = = = = = = = = = = = = DATED THIS, THE 12TH DAY OF AUGUST, 2011. J U D G M E N T P.S. Gopinathan, J. Writ petitioner is the appellant. He was a contestant in Kathakali during the last State School Kalolsavam. According to the appellant, he performed best. But the judges, being influenced, awarded him only the 4th rank. Though the result of the competition regarding grade awarded to the contestant was declared at 12.30 p.m. on 20.1.2011, the marks awarded to each contestant were not then declared. The marks were published through website at 1.30 P.M. As per the manual of the Kerala School Kalolsavam, appeal had to be preferred within one hour. According to the appellant, at 1.30 p.m. he got the entire result including the rank from the media centre. Immediately, he submitted an appeal at 1.40 P.M. with the prescribed fee of Rs. 1,000/- before the Higher Appeal Authority at St. Joseph's Girls High School, Kottayam as prescribed in Chapter-12 Clause 12.04 sub-clause 7 of Manual of the School Kalolsavam. Though the time prescribed for appeal is one hour from the time of publication of the result, the appeal was not accepted by the officials stating that it was belated. At W.A. 525/2011 2 2.45 p.m. the appellant met the first respondent who was the Chairman of the Appeal Committee and complained about the refusal of the appeal. Though the first respondent accepted the appeal, the fee was not accepted and assured that the matter would be examined and the outcome would be informed. According to the appellant, no action was taken. With these pleadings, the appellant sought for the following main reliefs in the writ petition: (a) call the entire records from the 1st respondent up to the declaration of the result and quash the same and declare that the petitioner filed the appeal in time; (b) direct the 1st respondent to accept the Ext. P5 appeal on payment of Rs.1,000/- by the petitioner and convene a meeting of the appeal committee and place the appeal before the committee and consider the same on merit by complying the usual procedures within a time frame and initiate appropriate steps in accordance with the result of appeal; (c) direct the respondents to make appropriate steps to effect necessary changes to prevent the unhealthy practices of dual declaration of results and enable the judges themselves to declare the respective rank of the participants in the stage itself along with grade.” 2. The learned Single Judge, by judgment dated 21.2.2011 dismissed the writ petition for the reason that even admitted by the appellant, the appeal was not preferred in time. Though the appellant preferred a review petition, that was also dismissed by order dated 28.3.2011. Now this W.A. 525/2011 3 appeal. 3. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the appellant as well as Smt. T.B. Remani, the learned Government Pleader, we notice that the very specific case of the appellant is that the marks were declared only at 1.30 P.M. though the grade was declared at 12.30 P.M. and that the appeal was filed at 1.40 p.m. What is discernible from the pleadings is that the appellate authority declined to accept the appeal by counting one hour from the time of declaration of grade. The learned Government Pleader appearing before the learned Single Judge had filed a statement. In that statement, it is stated that the detailed result was published through website and displayed in all the main venues at 12.44 Noon. From that statement, we are persuaded to conclude that the full publication of the result was at 12.44 p.m. and the time for appeal is to be counted from that time. The pleadings in the petition that the appellant submitted the appeal at 1.40 p.m. is not at all countered in the statement filed by the learned Government Pleader. That being so, we find that the appeal was preferred within one hour of the publication of the result through website and it was preferred in time. The Appellate Authority has erred in determining the time of publication of result at 12.30 p.m. Result is denial of justice warranting interference. The appellant is entitled to succeed. It is W.A. 525/2011 4 submitted by the learned Government Pleader that the C.D. of the performance is available with the respondents. There is no difficulty at all for a re-appraisal of the performance. Therefore, we are not going to the merits of the other contentions as we leave it open to the appellate authority. In the above circumstances, we allow this appeal. The judgment impugned is set aside. While allowing the writ petition, there will be a direction to respondents 1 and 2 to take the appeal submitted by the appellant to file as one instituted within time and to dispose of the same on merits after accepting the fee, if any, payable. The first respondent shall see that the appeal is disposed within one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment, which shall be produced by the appellant before the first respondent. C.N. RAMACHANDRAN NAIR, (JUDGE). P.S. GOPINATHAN, (JUDGE) knc/-