A candidate who approached the Calcutta High Court after he got less-than-expected marks in his higher secondary school exam and later found out that parts of his answer book had been lost has been awarded extra marks to compensate for the loss.
A bench of Justice Sougata Bhattacharya, which reprimanded the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, ordered it to compensate for the loss of Barshan Chakraborty, a resident of Krishnanagar.
In an order passed on December 10, the bench said, “On perusal of the report filed today on behalf of the Council and the decision of the President of the Council dated 2nd December 2024, it appears that in consideration of the academic interest of the petitioner, the Council has decided to enhance 35 marks in Mathematics (Theory), as a result of which the total marks awarded to the petitioner have been increased from 55 to 90. A revised mark-sheet is also appended to the report filed today on behalf of the Council.”
When the results of his 2022 higher secondary examination came, Chakraborty was shocked to see that he had received only 35 marks in the written exam and 20 marks in the practicals for the mathematics paper, as he was expecting over 75 out of 80.
Chakraborty was shown photocopies of his answer book after he filed a Right to Information (RTI) request with the council. He then found three of the six loose sheets he had used during the exam missing. He appealed for an increase in marks due to the lost sheets, but the council refused the request.
Chakraborty’s counsel Shankar Haldar said, “Since this is a matter of a young boy’s future and the Council was not ready to increase the marks, we filed a case in the Calcutta High Court in 2023. After several hearings, Justice Sougata Bhattacharya’s single bench ordered the Higher Secondary Education Council to increase the marks for the lost sheets. Now Barshan’s marks are 90.”
His father Biswajit Chakraborty told The Indian Express, “We are satisfied with the marks given, but it took two years and the Calcutta High Court’s intervention. Without that intervention, it would not have been possible. Just for five marks, my son missed out on all good government engineering colleges due to the council’s mistake.”
Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, president of the council, said an investigation of how the answer sheets were lost was not possible. “This is a 2022 case. It was the first exam held after Covid and all the exams were then conducted at home schools. Since it is an old case, an investigation was also not possible. The marks were given to the candidate on the grounds of the benefit of doubt. The father has provided in writing that they are satisfied with the council’s decision. The matter has been disposed of.”
Barshan Chakraborty has been suffering from lipoma since 2016.
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