Himachal Pradesh High Court
Rajnesh vs Himachal Pradesh Board Of School ... on 22 September, 2015
Author: Sureshwar Thakur
Bench: Sureshwar Thakur
1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH
SHIMLA
CWP No. 2569 of 2015.
.
Decided on: 22nd September, 2015.
Rajnesh .....Petitioner.
Versus
Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education,
Dharamshala & another ....Respondents.
of
Coram:
rt
The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sureshwar Thakur, Judge.
Whether approved for reporting?1 Yes.
For the Petitioner: Mr. Yudhbir Singh Thakur, Advocate
For Respondents No.1: Mr. Diwakar Dutt Sharma,
Advocate.
For respondent No.2: Mr. Vivek Singh Attri, Dy. A.G.
Sureshwar Thakur, Judge (oral)
The Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education, Dharamshala invited applications from eligible aspirants for participating in the Himachal Pradesh Teachers Eligibility Test, 2014. The petitioner being eligible in all respects participated in the examination held on 7.12.2014. The assessment of merit of the candidates participating in the aforesaid test was 1 Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 2endeavoured to be fathomed on the basis of answers meted by them to multiple choice questions appended to the writ petition as Annexure P-2. In trite the .
grievance of the petitioner herein is that the subject matter expert who prepared the questionnaire, had qua question No.13 formed a conclusion that the of correct and apt answer to it was the one indicated at choice (c). However, the learned counsel appearing for rt the petitioner contends with fervour before this Court that the view besides the opinion formed by the expert in construing that the appropriate answer to question No.13 was the choice at serial No. (c) is inherently fallacious, inasmuch as even while adverting to the reply furnished to the writ petition at the instance of the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education, Dharamashala wherein in support of its contention that the accurate answer to question No.13 is the choice existing at serial No.(c) and in canvassing so, it has relied upon Annexure R-2/1/T, yet reliance thereupon at the instance of the H.P. Board of School Education, Dharamshala is highly misplaced, as the succour drawn ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 3 thereupon is wholly out of context with the phraseology of the question which exists at serial No.13 of Annexure P-2. However, before proceeding to dwell upon the .
vigour of the contention raised before this Court by the learned counsel for the petitioner, it is deemed fit and appropriate to extract the question existing at serial of No.13 of Annexure P-2 and choices thereof which were to be ticked by the candidates participating in the rt apposite test. Question No.13 and their choices read as under:-
"13. The stage in which a child can think logically about objects and events is known as:-
(A) Sensory motor stage (B) Formal operation stage.
(c) pre operational stage (D) concrete operation stage."
It is also necessary apart therefrom to extract hereinafter the relevant portion of Annexure R-2/1/T:-
Description (Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development) Age Range Sensori Motor The infant progresses from reflexive Birth to 2 instinctual action at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought. The infant constructs an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions.
Preoperational The begins to represent the world with 2 to 7 words and images; these words and images reflect increased symbolic thinking and go beyond the connect of sensory information and physical action. Concrete The child now can reason logically about 7 to 11 ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 4 operational concrete events and can mentally reverse information.
Formal The adolescent reasons in more abstract, 11 to 15 operational idealistic and logical ways .
2. A glance at question No.13 formulated in Annexure P-2 unfolds the factum that the finer nuance of the aforesaid question, is the stage when a child can think logically about objects and events. Even, in view of of the finer nuance of the question aforesaid, the accurate answer to it in the view of the expert was the rt choice at serial No. (C). However, the opinion of the expert of choice (C) being the accurate answer to the question aforesaid would have garnered succour only when the question occurring at serial No.13 of Annexure P-2 was couched in the phraseology of, the stage at which the child can think symbolically.
However, when the phraseology of the question occurring at serial No.13 is in contradistinction to, the stage at which a child can think symbolically in event whereof, the opinion formed by the expert of the choice qua it existing at serial No. (C) would be imbued with accuracy besides, would be vidinicable, yet when the question occurring at serial No.13 of Annexure P-2 is ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 5 formulated in the phraseology of, the stage a child can think logically, in face thereof even when in Annexure R-2/1/T it has been markedly portrayed that the .
aforesaid stage is to be construed to be the "concrete operational stage". Consequently, the argument as meted by the learned counsel appearing for the of petitioner that the opinion formed by the expert that choice (C) is to be construed to be the appropriate answer to rt question occurring at serial No.13 in Annexure P-2 is inherently fallaciously, is to be accepted. In aftermath, this Court accepts the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner that choice (D) to it which he ticked to be its hence purveying the answer to question No.13 was not off the mark. Sequel thereof, is that in case the petitioner herein besides, if the other examinees along with him have proceeded to mark choice (D) as the correct answer to the question occurring at serial No.13 in Annexure P-2, then all such examinees shall be awarded apposite marks besides, the H.P. Board of School Education, Dharamshala, is concomitantly ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 6 enjoined to redraw or re-total the marks afforded to all those examinees who have ticked choice (C) as the correct answer to question No.13 which however is the .
incorrect answer to it. Hence, the Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education is directed to qua all those examinees who have ticked choice (D) as the correct of answer to question No.13 which for the reasons aforesaid, is rather the accurate answer to it, redraw or rt retotal the marks afforded to them by the examiner concerned.
3. Moreover, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has also canvassed with much fervour before this Court that all the choices to question No.25 meted by the subject expert are inaccurate, except choice (D) which is rather the appropriate choice meted out therein, rendering the affording of marks, if any, by the examiner to candidates who ticked choices other than (D) to be not justifiable. The learned counsel appearing for the H.P. Board of School Education, Dharamshala has, in his reply furnished to the factum of accurate or inaccurate choices indicated qua ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 7 question existing at serial No.25, therein conceded besides, acquiesced to the factum of all choices, inasmuch as (A) (B) and (C) being the .
inaccurate/inappropriate choices having been meted out therein. Consequently, with the acquiescence of the learned counsel appearing for the respondent-board of of choices at serial No.(A) (B) and (c) to question No.25 being the inappropriate choices, in sequel, then the rt ticking of choice (D) by the petitioner herein rendered it to be the accurate answer purveyed by him to question No.25 comprised in Annexure P-2. As a corollary then, with the evaluator despite the petitioner, if so having ticked choice (D) to the question occurring at serial No.25 having not qua it awarded marks to him has occasioned gross discounting on his part for the purveying of at the instance of the petitioner, an accurate answer to the question existing at serial No.25 comprised in Annexure P-2. Consequently, the respondent-board is directed to in case the petitioner herein has ticked choice (D) as the correct answer to question No.25 comprised in Annexure P-2 award marks ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 8 to him besides, the respondent board shall also proceed to award marks to all those examinees who apart from the petitioner have ticked choice (D) as the correct .
answer to question No.25 as also shall redraw or retotal their marks. In case, the respondent-board has proceeded to award marks to candidates who have of ticked choices (A), (B) and (C) to question No.25, such awarding of marks by the evaluator/examiner would not be rt reverable by this Court. Consequently, the respondent-board is directed to discount the awarding of marks by the evaluator/examiner to all those candidates, who have qua question No.25 ticked choices other than choice (D) besides, thereupon the respondent-board shall proceed to redraw or retotal the marks of all the examinees.
4. Lastly, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has contended before this Court that all the choices indicated qua question No.29 are inaccurate.
The said factum stands conceded besides acquiesced to by the learned counsel appearing for the respondent-
board. However, Mr. Diwakar Dutt Sharma, learned ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 9 counsel appearing for the respondent-board has contended before this Court that the respondent-board yet has proceeded to award marks to all those .
examinees, who have ticked any of the choices proffered by the subject expert to question No.29. In case, when none of the choices to question No.29 were of accurate or correct, it was not appropriate for the evaluator or the examiner of the H.P. Board of School Education to rt proceed to award marks to those examinees, who proceeded to tick any of the choices mentioned therein. Resultantly, the respondent-board is directed to delete question No.29 from Annexure P-2.
If the examiner has proceeded to award marks to the examinees who have ticked any of the choices to question No.29 comprised in Annexure P-2, then such awarding of marks shall be concomitantly deleted by him from the mark sheets of all the candidates/examinees. Obviously, it shall be incumbent upon the respondent-board thereupon to proceed to redraw or retotal the marks of all the examinees.
5. In nutshell the writ petition is allowed. The ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 10 Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education, Dharmashala is directed to award marks to the petitioner herein qua question No.13, besides also to .
other candidates who have ticked choice (D) as the correct answer to question No.13 of Annexure P-2.
Further the respondent-board is directed to discount the of marks as awarded to all the examinees who have ticked choice (c) as the accurate answer to Question No.13 of rt Annexure P-2, which for the reasons aforesaid is the inaccurate answer to it and thereupon the respondent-
board shall proceed to redraw and retotal the marks of all the aspirants. Also the respondent Board is directed to, in the face of the aforesaid discussion, when choice (D) is the accurate answer qua question No.25, proceed to award marks to all those candidates who have ticked choice (D) as the correct answer to question No.25 and thereupon shall proceed to redraw and retotal their marks in their respective score sheets. Lastly, the respondent-board is also directed to delete question No.29 from Annexure P-2 and shall in case it has, as submitted by the learned counsel appearing for ::: Downloaded on - 15/04/2017 18:59:55 :::HCHP 11 it, proceeded to award marks to the participants who have ticked any of the choices to question No.29, which are all fallicious, delete such marks from their mark .
sheets and thereupon shall proceed to redraw their respective score sheets besides, the respondent-board shall redraw the merit list qua the candidates who have of appeared in the relevant test. All pending applications also stand disposed of.
rt
22nd September, 2015. (Sureshwar Thakur),
(jai) Judge.
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