New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Tuesday told the Supreme Court that a decision on whether or not to hold this year’s board exams for Class 12 would be taken by Wednesday evening.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta made this submission before a three-judge bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, which agreed to hear the matter Thursday at 2 pm.
The court was hearing a petition filed by parents of Class 12 students, asking it to quash the board’s notification to hold the remaining board exams in July.
The petitioners have highlighted that according to AIIMS, the Covid-19 pandemic would be at its peak in India during this time.
The bench also took note of another plea concerning the ICSE exams filed by Gurgaon-based parents, filed on similar lines as the CBSE petition.
Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for ICSE, submitted that the private board will await CBSE’s decision before taking a call on its exams.
“By tomorrow evening, a formal decision will be finalised. We understand the anxiety of the students. We can inform the Court the day after tomorrow,” Mehta told the bench, informing it the deliberations were on an advanced stage.
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‘ICSE can tweak govt order on Class 12 boards’
The bench asked Mehta to consider the questions raised in the petition related to ICSE exam.
Gupta told the court that a Bombay High Court bench was already seized of a petition against the proposed ICSE exams, which was awaiting a final order of the apex court in the CBSE case.
On the senior advocate’s suggestion, the court listed the ICSE plea along with the CBSE matter Thursday.
But the bench made it clear that ICSE will have to follow the Centre or CBSE, once a decision is taken.
“The situation is very unusual. If the government decides and takes an informed call, then please take it seriously and don’t discard it, because you are an autonomous body,” the bench said.
Gupta submitted that ICSE will broadly follow the CBSE decision, to which the court said that it would be at liberty to tweak it and follow an “informed decision”.
Gupta told ThePrint: “ICSE was awaiting for the government to assess the situation. It has to be a uniform decision for all students, irrespective of the board they follow.”
He pointed out that the Allahabad High Court had, in a similar matter, referred a petition as representation to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the central government.
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