The Bombay High Court has ruled that the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education is not authorized to invalidate the results of Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) re-examinations solely due to a student's failure to collect the marksheet within a six-month period.

In a decision by a division bench comprising Justice AS Chandurkar and Justice Jitendra Jain, a writ petition filed by a student contesting the annulment of his 2018 result and requesting the issuance of the marksheet was granted.

The court expressed its bewilderment at the stance of Respondent No. 2 (Maharashtra Board), stating that it failed to comprehend why a student's improved examination result should be invalidated solely due to the administrative oversight of not collecting the marksheet. The court emphasized that such a refusal or cancellation lacked any logical basis.

The petitioner initially achieved 55.37 percent marks in the 2017 HSC Examination. Opting for a re-examination in 2018, the petitioner secured 65.2 percent marks. Subsequently, they pursued preparations for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) at the Allen Career Institute, Kota, Rajasthan, with intentions to reappear in 2024.

In 2022, the petitioner made a request to the Maharashtra State Board for the issuance of the marksheet for the 2018 re-examination. However, the Board declined the request, citing the petitioner's failure to collect the marksheet within six months of the result declaration, which resulted in the cancellation of the result.

The court observed that the primary goal of re-examination is to provide students with the opportunity to enhance their scores for better prospects in higher education. The policy of the Board is designed to assist students in improving their academic performance.

The petitioner clarified that they genuinely believed they could obtain the original marksheet from the college after clearing the NEET examination. It was only recently that they realized this was incorrect, prompting them to promptly approach the Board for a revised marksheet. The court acknowledged the petitioner's explanation and granted the petition.

As a result, the court instructed the petitioner to present a copy of the judgment to the Board, submit an application for the issuance of the revised marksheet, and surrender the original marksheet alongside the application. Furthermore, the court directed the Board to notify the student of the applicable charges for obtaining the new marksheet reflecting the improved score.

Upon payment, the board is mandated to promptly issue the revised marksheet. Additionally, upon return of the 2017 Statement of Marks, the Board is obligated to provide the Statement of Marks for the HSC Examination undertaken by the petitioner in 2018, during which they secured 424 out of 650 marks.

Case no. – Writ Petition No. 926 of 2024

Case Title – Soheb Sageerali Khan v. State of Maharashtra and Ors.