HC permits re-evaluation in all subjects for CBSE

In a significant order, the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to re-evaluate the answer sheets of all the subjects of all students who wrote the class XII examination this year and seek re-evaluation.

The CBSE has been directed to give benefit of the scheme of scrutiny to students who have a grievance that their answer books have not been checked as per the marking scheme.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said "the relief is not confined only to the petitioners before it and shall be admissible to all the similarly situated students who seek re-evaluation of their answer sheets".

"The CBSE shall conduct the re-evaluation of the answer sheets of the petitioners as have been applied for by them without the prohibition contained in condition numbers (i), (iii) and (vii) of the notice dated June 28, 2017.

"The CBSE shall accept all applications for re-evaluation in all the subjects which the petitioners may apply for and conduct the re-evaluation forthwith," the bench said in an interim order. The court's direction came on a plea filed by four students against the CBSE's June 28 notice imposing conditions that the right of applying for scrutiny was limited to 12 subjects only and up to 10 questions per subject.

The notice had also said that a revised marksheet would be issued only if the marks increased by five or were reduced by one.