The Gujarat High Court has directed the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Board to ensure that in future Class 10 and Class 12 examination papers, the list of instructions preceding the actual questions must clearly specify which questions are intended only for visually impaired students. This order emerged from a petition filed by a Class 10 student who appeared for the Basic Mathematics examination, pointing out ambiguity in the printed instructions. According to the petitioner, the question paper contained some notes indicating certain questions were meant for visually impaired candidates, but it failed to clarify whether such instructions applied to the preceding question or those that followed. As a result of this confusion, she responded to questions meant exclusively for visually impaired students—estimated to be worth 18 to 20 marks—which were ultimately not evaluated, thus causing prejudice to her performance.
The High Court, led by Justice Nikhil Kariel, examined the petitioner’s claim and acknowledged that while her grievance appeared genuine, no actual prejudice was demonstrated in her case. On reviewing the question paper, the Court observed that instructions for visually impaired students were placed randomly below certain items, without specifying whether they referred to the earlier question or those that followed. The ambiguity in layout was deemed likely to cause confusion for any tenth‑standard student. Even though the student secured 59 out of 80 marks in Basic Mathematics and had moved on to Class 11 (likely in the commerce stream), the Court determined that her results were unaffected in a way that warranted interference under judicial review. The Court noted that since these marks would not affect future admissions beyond Class 11 or future employment, and as she had not failed the exam, her case did not call for a prerogative writ. Issuing relief could potentially open the floodgates for similar petitions, which would not be in the larger public interest.
Despite declining to grant re‑evaluation or adjustment of marks for the petitioner, the Gujarat High Court emphasized that the Board should have anticipated such confusion and taken steps to prevent it. It directed the Board to rectify the problem by ensuring that future question papers for both Class 10 and Class 12 examinations commence with a clear list of instructions identifying questions reserved for visually impaired candidates. In addition, general instructions within the body of question papers must explicitly reference the specific question numbers designated for visually impaired students. The Court underlined that such clarity would help maintain the confidence of students and parents in the integrity of the State Board’s examinations.
While the petitioner had sought judicial intervention to re‑evaluate her answer sheet and award marks for the questions she had attempted mistakenly, the Court declined that remedy, observing that no prejudice had resulted in her overall result. Justice Kariel held that issuing a writ at this stage was unwarranted and might encourage similar litigation, especially when students had already commenced their further studies. The Court expressed that although the petitioner may have had a reasonable grievance, the absence of tangible adverse effect on her academic progression rendered the petition inappropriate for relief. The petition was disposed of with this decision, but accompanied by firm directions to prevent such ambiguities in future examination formats.
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