Allahabad High Court
C/M Thru. Om Sri Sai Manav Kalyan Seva ... vs State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy., ... on 11 February, 2025
Author: Manish Mathur
Bench: Manish Mathur
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH ?Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC-LKO:8652 Court No. - 19 Case :- WRIT - C No. - 21 of 2025 Petitioner :- C/M Thru. Om Sri Sai Manav Kalyan Seva Santhan Lakpedabagh Thru. Mgr., Smt. Asha Verma And Anr Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Addl. Chief Secy., Secondary Education, Lucknow And Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Girish Chandra Verma Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Manish Mathur,J.
1. Heard Mr. G.C. Verma, learned counsel for petitioners and learned State Counsel for opposite parties.
2. Petition has been filed seeking a direction to opposite parties for including petitioners' school as an examination center for holding the Board Examinations for the year 2025 in terms of notification issued by Government dated 17.09.2024. Concomitant prayer pertaining to allotment of the college as self-examination center has also been made.
3. The primary thrust of submissions advanced by learned counsel for petitioners pertain to paragraph-4 of the aforesaid notification dated 17.09.2024 to the effect that self-examination centers are required to be allocated in terms of quality point marks obtained by particular institution. It is submitted that the aspect of more number of girl students in a particular institution would be subject to the earlier such condition of having more quality point marks.
4. Learned counsel for petitioners has adverted to a list appended as SA-1 to the supplementary affidavit dated 17.01.2025 to submit that as per said list, certain other schools having fewer number of girl students have been made self-examination centers ignoring the claim of petitioner institution which has been a self-examination center for a number of years. He has also adverted to the fact that the institutes indicated in the said list such as Krishak Bal Vidya Mandir Inter College Udhvapur Barauli Malik, Barabanki, Bharatamata Inter College, Barabanki and J.P. Memorial Inter College, Barabanki have obtained lesser quality point marks than petitioner and therefore alleges hostile discrimination.
5. Learned counsel for petitioner has also adverted to paragraph-4 (?) of the notification dated 17.09.2024 to submit that from a perusal thereof, it is evident that for those schools having only girl students, the self-examination center is assumed and it is only in case of a school having boys that such a slab system pertaining to distance can be adhered to. He has adverted to paragraph-4 (?) to substantiate his submission particularly with regard to slab of 12 kilometers being indicated therein and as such submits that there is no concept of zero to seven kilometers radius with regard to boys students.
6. Mr. Rahul Shukla, learned State Counsel has refuted submissions advanced by learned counsel for petitioners and has placed reliance on counter affidavit dated 05.02.2025, particularly paragraph-8 thereof to indicate that petitioner institution although having merit quality points of 330, has a total strength of girl students of 137 whereas the other schools who have been madeself-examination center under the unaided/self-financed category, have a higher strength of girl students due to which they were selected asself-examination center. It is also submitted that as per order dated 17.09.2024, it is first the Government schools which are required to be allocated asself-examination center whereafter if need be, the aided and then the unaided/self-financed schools are required to be considered.
7. He has also adverted to a chart indicating detail of school-wise grouping annexed as annexure SCA-2 to indicate the four schools which have been allocated asself-examination centers and are within seven kilometers radius of petitioners institution to submit that it is only the Beni Prasad Verma Kisan Inter College and the Modern Academy Inter College which are under the unaided category and have been selected on the ground of having higher number of girl students than petitioner.
8. In response thereto, learned counsel for petitioners submits that there is no provision under the policy forself-examination centers to be within seven kilometers radius of petitioners institution and has again adverted to chart appended to supplementary affidavit to indicate that three other schools which have been allotted asself-examination centers have fewer number of girl students although they are beyond the seven kilometers radius but as reiterated, there is no concept of seven kilometers radius.
9. Upon consideration of submissions advanced by learned counsel for parties and perusal of material on record, particularly the order dated 17.09.2024, the aspects indicated in paragraph-4 (?), (?), (?) and (?) require interpretation.
10. Paragraph-4 (?) indicates the categorization of schools with priority being given to Government Schools, then aided schools and lastly unaided/self-financed schools.
11. Paragraph 4 (?) indicates that subject to fulfillment of other conditions, priority would be given to those institutes which have higher number of girl students for allocation asself-examination centers.
12. Paragraph-4 (?) indicates that for allocation asself-examination center, schools having more than 250 girl students under High School and Intermediate College categories would be given priority.
13. Paragraph-4 (?) indicates that subject to fulfillment of other conditions, in case where it is not possible for a school to be allocated asself-examination center, every possible efforts should be made to provide a center within seven kilometers radius of the said school.
14. In view of aforesaid conditions indicated in order dated 17.09.2024, it is thus evident that for an institution to be considered as a self-examination center, it requires firstly to fulfill all the requisite norms, whereafter preference is required to be given to those schools having higher number of girl students. It is also indicated in the policy that for a school to be allocated as a self-examination center, it should have a minimum of 250 students including those attached to it and in case school is unable to be allocated as aself-examination center, an alternate center is required to be provided to such girl students within seven kilometers radius.
15. Upon applicability of aforesaid policy in the present facts and circumstances of the case, the counter affidavit indicates details of school-wise grouping, appended as SCA-2 with names of nine institutes including that of petitioner coming within seven kilometers radius. Out of these institutes, four have been included as self-examination center with two of them being Beni Prasad Verma Kisan Inter College and the Modern Academy Inter College coming under the same category of unaided/self-financed as that of petitioner. With regard to first institute, it is evident that the same comes within zero to seven kilometers raidus of petitioners institution and admittedly has 190 students although it has scored lesser quality points of 140 as compared to 330 of petitioners institution. The other institute has a strength of 286 girl students although it also features lesser quality points at 315.
16. It is thus evident that the other two institutes which have been allocated asself-examination center have obtained lesser quality points than that of petitioners institution but have been chosen only on the basis of their higher girl students strength of 280 and 190 respectively.
17. Although the policy does not indicate any particular aspect of the slab system regarding distance which has been followed by opposite parties but in the considered opinion of this Court, the same is plausible and reasonable so that the girl students do not have to travel far in villages for their center allocation.
18. In such circumstances, this Court does not find any unreasonableness in the distance slab system adhered to by opposite parties pertaining firstly zero to seven kilometers then seven to twelve kilometers and subsequently twelve to fifteen kilometers.
19. With regard to the list brought on record by petitioners alongwith supplementary affidavit, the institutes indicated as at serial nos. 2, 3 and 4 such as Noor Mohammad Inter College Jaidpur Barabanki, The Modern Academy Inter College Zaidpur, Barabanki and Beni prasad Verma Kisan Inter College Mehrupur Barabanki, it is evident that although they have fewer number of girl students but are beyond the slab of zero to seven kilometers radius from petitioners institution. They, therefore, have been rightly excluded from consideration with viz-a-viz petitioners institution. So far as the other two institutes which are coming within zero to seven kilometers radius of petitioners institution, it is evident and admitted that although they have obtained lesser quality points but have a higher girl students strength of 286 and 190 respectively as compared to 137 of petitioners institution.
20. As has already been held by this Court vide judgment and order dated 27.01.2025 passed in Writ-C No. 697 of 2025 that mere awarding of higher quality points to petitioners institution cannot be taken as a sole criteria in view of paragraph-4 (?) of the notification dated 17.09.2024 with strictly indicates that aspect of notification of an examination center would be on the basis of primacy being given to those Court which have higher number girl students. The judgment also indicates that even otherwise particular institutes do not have any vested statutory right for raising such a claim until and unless they come within purview of the notification.
21. This Court is in respectful agreement with the aforesaid judgment.
22. With regard to submissions of learned counsel for petitioner pertaining to paragraph 4 (?), a perusal of the same indicates that the said provision pertains only to boy schools and not to girl schools which can be found under paragraph-4 (?) which indicates the provision for a self-examination center for girl schools to be within zero to seven kilometers radius. The aforesaid argument, therefore, appears to be misconceived.
23. In view thereof, particularly in view of specific conditions of paragraph-4 of the notification dated 17.09.2024, the list excluding petitioners institution as self-examination center under the unaided/self-financed category cannot be found fault with.
24. Consequently, the petition being devoid of merit is dismissed. Parties to bear their own cost.
Order Date :- 11.2.2025/Satish