Can answer sheets be disclosed? CIC to review own ruling

Himanshi Dhawan, TNN, Apr 19, 2010, 03.54am IST
NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) will set up a seven-member bench to assess whether evaluated answer sheets can be disclosed to citizens. The commission will be reviewing its own decision not to make answer sheets public.

The move comes after a St Stephen's student approached the CIC demanding that she be able to access her answer sheets.

The student, Sarah Cyriac, alleged that Delhi University (DU) had inadvertently mixed up her answer script with someone else's.

Chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said, "We have decided to set up a seven-member bench to review the decision to not disclose evaluated answer sheets." No date has been fixed yet. The case against DU, however, points to the apathetic state of affairs in public institutions.

In her submission to the CIC, Cyriac pointed out that she appeared for all six papers of BA (Hons) Economics final year exams held in April-May 2009 by DU. She was, however, marked 'absent' for one paper in which she had appeared and expected to score well.

The scores for the rest of the papers averaged about 50% and were at variance with her earlier academic record. Cyriac said in her submission that she was a CBSE Class XII topper as well as a nominee of the HRD ministry's Commonwealth Scholarship 2009.

As evidence, Cyriac produced attendance records that proved she had appeared for the exam. Within three days, university officials issued a fresh marksheet with a 50% score in that paper also.

Suspecting that there was a mix-up in answer scripts, Criac approached DU in July 2009 for her answer scripts under RTI but was denied information.

CIC's earlier decision said that with institutions having "an established system as foolproof as can be, and which, by their own rules, prohibit disclosure of evaluated answer sheets would result in rendering the system unworkable... We therefore decide that in such cases, a citizen cannot seek disclosure of the answer sheets under RTI Act, 2005."