Prayer of parent for revaluation dismissed

Business Standard: Chennai: Sunday, May 24, 2015.

The plea of a 10th standard girl student's parent, seeking revaluation of her answer paper, has been dismissed by Madras High Court bench in Madurai, which said it cannot compel the authorities to act in a particular manner in the absence of schemes or provisions for revaluation.

Justice S Vaidyanathan stated this while dismissing a petition filed by P Muthualagangan, seeking a directive to the Education department officials to furnish the key answer and also to issue the the mark sheet to his daughter, who wrote her 10th standard SSLC exam in March 2014.

The court noted that all the questions were properly corrected and some marks were awarded. Lesser marks were given for some questions, but this did not mean the petitioner's daughter was entitled to get full marks for all questions.

"Moreover, in the absence of any scheme or provision for revaluation of the mark sheet, this Court cannot compel the respondents to act in a particular manner as desired by the petitioner," the judge said.

The petitioner contended that his daughter was awarded 87 marks in Tamil second paper. Not satisfied, he had immediately sent a representation to authorities concerned with necessary payment and also applied for retotaling on May 26 2014. After publication of this result, there was no change in marks and her number did not appear in the subsequent publication.

Thereafter, he got the answer sheet under the RTI Act, in which he allegedly found irregularities in allotment of marks to some questions.

The petitioner submitted his daughter was the first rank holder all through in school. Pursuant to award of less marks, his daughter got only 488 marks and was unable to get scholarship from the school, which had announced free education to those who got 490 marks in the Board examination.

Hence he moved court, seeking a direction to the Education authorities to revalue answer sheets of his daughter M Kaavya.

The Additional Government Pleader pointed out that there was no scheme to revalue the answer sheets and only re- totaling was permitted under the scheme.

Accepting his contention, Justice Vaidyanathan dismissed the petition.