Answer script suit in high court

[karira]

As reported by the Legal Reporter in telegraphindia.com on 6 March 2008:
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Metro | Answer script suit in high court

Answer script suit in high court

Several students turned up at the high court on Wednesday to attend the hearing of a case filed by a Presidency College student, asking to see his answer script under the Right to Information Act.

Pritam Rooz, the third-year mathematics honours student, had requested the Calcutta University authorities to show him his honours paper V answer script. He had appeared for the paper last year during B.Sc Part II.

The university authorities had turned down the request. Rooz then moved the high court, stating that the university had violated the Right to Information Act by not allowing him to see his answer script.

On Wednesday, Justice Indira Banerjee fixed the matter for hearing on March 7.

Rooz had obtained 28 marks out of 100 in his honours paper V. He applied to the university authorities for review of his answer script. Four marks were added following the process.

Not satisfied with the increase, Rooz had asked to see his answer script. The university authorities informed him that the norms did not permit handing over of the answer scripts to the examinees.

Rooz then wrote to the university authorities that the Right to Information Act empowered him to see his answer script. But the authorities again turned down the request, stating that the university rules did not come under the purview of the act.

“I want to know from the court whether students have the right to see their answer scripts. A student should have the right to know whether his answer script was properly evaluated or not,” said Pritam, who filed the case in the high court in January.

Viewing of answer scripts is a long-standing demand of students. In 2003, at least 300 Higher Secondary examinees had moved a PIL in the high court, calling for photocopies of answer scripts to be supplied with results.

“The court had turned down the plea but said the agencies that conduct examinations should make the result publication process more transparent. The students are now relying on the Right to Information Act,” said advocate Supradip Roy, who had appeared for the examinees.

[karira]

As reported ENS on expressindia.com on 7 March 2008:
Why is answerscript information, HC asks student’s counsel - Latest News - Friday , March 07, 2008 at 01:17:13

Why is answerscript information, HC asks student’s counsel

Kolkata, March 6 The Calcutta High Court today asked the counsel of Pritam Rooz, a student of Presidency College, to explain why Rooz’s answerscript should be treated as information. Rooz had filed a petition challenging the decision of Calcutta University not to hand over his answerscript on the ground that it should not be treated as information.

The University had also pointed out that the script could not come under the purview of RTI Act, as the student was only too aware of what he had written in the examination.

Rooz had secured 28 in his fifth mathematics paper in his BSc final exams. He had applied for re-evaluation after which the university informed him that his marks in that paper had gone up to 32.

The student then applied for a copy of his answerscript under the RTI Act. But the university turned down his request.

During the hearing, Calcutta University’s counsel Sombudha Chakraborty submitted before Justice Sanjib Banerjee that both the state and Central information commissions were of the view that a student should not be given a copy of the script.

He said a student was fully aware of the contents of the script as the university always published the marks. If a student wants to know, the university could easily provide the marks against each question.

Rooz’s counsel Satadal Chatterjee moved the plea that according to the RTI Act, any manuscript could be sought under its purview. So the answerscript should be treated as a manuscript as it was hand-written.

But Justice Banerjee asked the counsel to explain why an answerscript should be treated as information as it was already known to Rooz.

The judge also observed, “that which was not known, if somebody has no access to collect it, then it will be treated as information”.

[karira]

Rooz’s counsel Satadal Chatterjee moved the plea that according to the RTI Act, any manuscript could be sought under its purview. So the answerscript should be treated as a manuscript as it was hand-written.

How legally correct !!

Sec 2(f):
f)"information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails,.................."

Further, Sec 2(i):
i)"record" includes— a)any document, manuscript and file;
b)any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document;
c)any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm (whether enlarged or not); and
d)any other material produced by a computer or any other device;

But Justice Banerjee asked the counsel to explain why an answerscript should be treated as information as it was already known to Rooz.

The argument of the lawyer should be that NOWHERE does the RTI Act state that an applicant cannot ask for information already known to him.

Will be interesting to know the result.

In any case, as the article says, there are many CIC and SIC rulings on answer scripts.

[wagh7]

Sirs,

In many cases , we are knowing the facts but the concerned department or section does not agree to that. Under such circumstances to know the details what they are (i.e. the Department or section) having in the concrned file so that the applicant can satisfy about the information that is kept in the files is containg all related documents and nothing is lost.

In the case of examination answer scripts, if a student is claiming he should get more marks, and the department say it is not. In such case one thing could have been happened that some of his answer sheets are missed or some mischief might have been happened with his answer sheets.

As I remember one Xth class examination result of my town in Andhra pradesh (around 14 years back), one girl failed in a subject, where as she was claiming that she answered all questions with correct answers.

The parents of the girls took the issue very seriously and strongly fought with the Board, finally board took a decision to re-conduct that paper for single girl and then the girl stood with distinction.

If such things happen, the students will be loosing their life. We should appreciate the students who are fighting for justice and asking for xerox certified copies to know whether all the answer scripts they wrote in exam are evaluated or not. It is a genuine demand from the student.

When CIC gave a decision to disclouse the answer sheets of departmental examination, then why not the Board examination papers?

Let us wait and hope the best.

rakatkam.

[Satish Gupta]

This is a very strange argument by university, and the justices, that since the student already knows the answer, it is not "information" or is not subject to RTI!!

How the answer was treated by the examiner, whether the answer sheet is still there, are matters of utmost concern to the student.

I do not understand the rationale the university is giving for withholding the answer sheet.

In USA, the universities freely provide the answer sheet, after they are graded by the examiners. It does not seem to have hurt them in any way.

In California, once a student appears for Bar Examination, to get an attorney's license, the answer sheets are available for inspection by the student, if the student fails the examination. This examination is conducted by an agency of government.

I hope similar transparency will be the order of the day, in India, in near future.

[wagh7]

Satish gupta Sir,

Thank you very much for providing the information on examination answer sheet at USA.

After the decision of the Court of law in this case, the matter will be clear and hope examination answer sheets will be open to students.

rakatkam.

[sidmis]

Right won to scan script
As Reported by Pritam Ruz (LEGAL REPORTER) in the Telegraph

An examinee is entitled to see his evaluated answer scripts under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Calcutta High Court ruled on Friday.

Justice Sanjib Banerjee, while delivering the order, directed Calcutta University to show the script of mathematics paper V (B.Sc) to Pritam Ruz, who had appeared in the graduation Part II exams from Presidency College last year.

“Students are under great stress while writing the test. At times, they don’t even realise what they are writing. So, they must have the right to know whether they had made any mistakes,” Justice Banerjee observed. “The RTI Act, based on Article 19 of the Constitution, empowers citizens to know facts.”

Pritam had scored 28 in mathematics paper V. He sought a review, after which the marks increased to 32. But the revised marks did not please him either, and he pleaded with the university to show him the script.

The authorities turned down his plea, prompting Pritam to move court on March 4. He claimed that the RTI Act bestowed on him the right to know whether his scripts were properly evaluated or not.

Pritam’s lawyer, Satadal Chattopadhya, argued that the university’s decision went against the act and hence, was unconstitutional.

Appearing for the university, Sambuddha Chakraborty said the institute’s regulations should not be challenged in court. Pritam, now an M.Sc student, said: “The ruling will benefit many students.”

A related News Item also appeared in the Times Of India here.

[drgdilip]

hi,thanx a lot for the legal information ,because most of them doesnt know regarding that

[karira]

University of Pune has allowed students to seek photocopies of their answer scripts from the exams to be held in March/April 2008:

UNIVERSITY OF PUNE
CIRCULAR NO.123 OF 2008
It is hereby notified for information of all concerned that the new Ordinance No. 182 as regards supply of the photo copy/ies of assessed and /or moderated theory subject/s answer book/s to the examinees, This Ordinance shall be made applicable from March/April, 2008 examination session.
ORDINANCE NO. 182
1. The photo copy/ies of assessed and/or moderated theory subject/s answer book/s of the current examination will be supplied to the examinee/s. The photo copy/ies of answer books of practical examination, sessional marks, marks of viva-voce / dissertation / thesis / project, Common Entrance Test conducted by University etc. shall not be supplied to the examinee/s.
2. An examinee may apply for the photo copy/ies of the answer-book/ s in 50% of theory subjects/papers or maximum three of theory subjects / papers, whichever is less, for which he/she has appeared at the University examination.
3. The prescribed application form for demand of photo copy/ies of answer book/s will be available at the Publication Unit of the University or from Regional center, on payment of Rs.20/- for Non-professional Course and Rs.30/- for Professional Course.
4. The photo copy/ies shall be supplied on the payment of non-refundable fees as follows :
a) Non- Professional course - Rs.250/- per answer book of theory paper.
b) Professional course - Rs. 3007- per answer book of theory paper.
5. The prescribed application form shall have to be filled in and signed by the examinee only and shall be submitted to the Principal of the college concerned along with the requisite fees, within 10 days (both days inclusive) from the date of declaration of results of the examination concerned. Incomplete or Incorrect application form shall be rejected without assigning any reasons and fees paid along with application form shall not be refunded. The external students should apply directly to the Controller of Examinations of the University along with the requisite fees, within 10 days (both days inclusive) from the date of declaration of results of the examination concerned.
6. The Principal of the college shall forward all such applications collectively to the Controller of Examinations, University of Pune within 15 days (both days inclusive) from the date of declaration of results of the examination concerned.
7. In clause 5 & 6 above, if the last day happens to be the holiday to the college/ University, the next working day will be treated as the last day.
8. Out of the fees collected for supply of photo copy/ies, a sum of Rs. 10/- (Rs. Ten only) per examinee shall be deducted by the college concerned towards administrative charges and D. D. commission and remaining amount shall be sent by Demand Draft in favour of Registrar, University of Pune along with the application forms & statements of fees collected/remitted.
9. Upon receipt of the application forms by the University from the college, "The Photo Copies Cell of the University" ('hereinafter referred to as the cell*) shall scrutinize the answer-book/ s and shall verify the following:
a) Whether the total marks in the given paper awarded to the examinee on the statement of marks matches with the marks awarded to the examinee on the cover page of the answer book/s?
b) Whether the question-wise marks awarded to all the questions inside the answer book are correctly carried over to the cover page?
c) Whether the total of the question-wise marks on the cover page is correct?
d) Whether all the answers or parts thereof in the answer book have been assessed by the examiner?
10. Discrepancy, if any on any, of the count as mentioned in clause 9 above, noted by the Cell, shall be corrected by the Cell.
11. If any question or part thereof in the answer book is found to be unvalued/unassessed , the same shall be got valued from the examiner and additional marks awarded, If any, shall then be carried, and added on the cover page and accordingly, the total of the marks shall be corrected.
12. The change, if any, on the counts mentioned in clause 9 above, shall be informed to the examinee and corrected statement of marks shall also be issued to the examinee on his/her surrendering the original statement of marks to the University through the college concerned, without charging any fees.
13. The photo copy/ies of the answer book/s shall be made available to the examinee after making corrections, if any, in the marks on the cover page and after awarding grace marks., if any, and concealing the identity of the examiner and moderator. The designated officer shall certify on main page of the answer book by placing the seal. In no case, the identity of the examiner/s, moderator/s shall be disclosed.
14. The photo copy/ies of only written part of answer book/s shall be provided. No photo copy/ies of blank pages of answer book/s shall be provided.
15. The photo copy/ies of the answer book/s shall be sent to the Principal/s of College/s concerned for further issuance of the same to the examinee/s concerned. The Principal of the college concerned shall obtain from the examinee, a written acknowledgement of the receipt of photo copy/ies of answer book/s.
16. The University shall supply the photo copy/ies within 45 days from the date of receipt of application through the Principal of the College concerned.
17. Upon receipt of photo copy/ies of answer book/s, an examinee may apply for Revaluation within seven days from the date of the receipt of the answer book/s (both days inclusive) through his/her college. The external student/s concerned shall apply directly to the University The Principal of the college concerned shall forward all such applications to the University within three days.(both days inclusive). The fees for revaluation shall be as follows :
a) Non-professional course - Rs.180/- per subject /course/head of passing of the theory paper.
b) Professional course- Rs.245/- per subject/ course/ head of passing of the theory paper. The said fees may be revised, by the University from time to time.
18. An examinee may apply separately for Verification & Revaluation of answer book/s as per Ordinance 149 and Ordinance 134 A & B and for photo copy/ies of answer-book/ s as per this ordinance simultaneously. An examinee, upon the receipt of the photo copy/ies of answer-book/ s, may also apply for revaluation as mentioned in clause 17 above subject to following conditions:
a) An examinee will not be eligible to apply for Revaluation again for the subjects for which he/she has applied to get photo copies and Revaluation was also carried out for the same subjects initially as per his application.
b) An examinee who has initially applied for Revaluation Separately and who also applies for Revaluation after the receipt of Photo copies of answer books, may also appl for Revaluation of answer books of theory papers for maximum 50% heads of passing hi theory subjects or maximum three head of passing in theory subjects whichever is less in both the modes of Revaluation taken together.
19. Photo copy/ies of answer book/s after revaluation, shall not be provided.
20. The supply of photo copy/ies of answer books is an additional facility made available to the candidates. The University shall not be liable for failure or delay in supplying the photo copy/ies of the answer book/s due to any reason beyond the control of the University.
21. An examinee who is found to have indulged in any malpractice/ s as per the Ordinance 9 relating to the conduct of examinations and /or has been punished on account of malpractices in the examination/ s, shall not be eligible to apply for photo copy/ies of answer book/s of any of the subjects/papers of that examination.
22. The examinee shall be sole custodian of the photo copy/ies so supplied and shall not be entitled to transfer the same to anybody for any purpose, whatsoever. The examinee shall further refrain himself from putting such photo copy/ies to any misuse that might jeopardize the reputation of the University.
23. In case of misused of photo copy/ies by the examinee, University Authority will take action against such a candidates as per the provision of Section 32(6) (a) of Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994.
24. 1f any difficulty arises in application of this Ordinance, the Vice-Chancellor shall be competent to take the decision and his decision shall be final and binding.
Ref. No. Law/2008/165
Date: 12-3-2008 Registrar
Copy for information to:
1) The Principals of Affiliated Colleges
2) The Heads of Recognized Institutions
3) The Heads of University Departments
4) The Heads of Sections in the University Office
__._,_.___

[nile0611]

Thank karira for the very valuable information.
I has appeared for my TY B.Com exam from B'bay university in year 1996.
I had failed in A/C III paper which is not of the easiest subject.
I applied for revaluation but all in vain.
Then I appeared for Second attempt in october with just a single revision and I got 80% marks.
I am sure that I was passed at first attempt itself is there any way to get my evaluated answer sheet from b'bay university and do any of the member know the retention period of answer sheet as it is more than 10 years.

[karira]

Originally Posted by nile0611

Thank karira for the very valuable information.
I has appeared for my TY B.Com exam from B'bay university in year 1996.
I had failed in A/C III paper which is not of the easiest subject.
I applied for revaluation but all in vain.
Then I appeared for Second attempt in october with just a single revision and I got 80% marks.
I am sure that I was passed at first attempt itself is there any way to get my evaluated answer sheet from b'bay university and do any of the member know the retention period of answer sheet as it is more than 10 years.

Nile,

That is why I say many times, that there should be total transparency in everything, so that there is no need for RTI.
But that is still a far away dream !

For the benefit of future students in Mumbai University, is it possible to use the circular of Pune University and try to force Mumbai University to do the same ?

[sidmis]

CU shows answers to pupil
By LEGAL REPORTER in Telegraph Tuesday , May 6 , 2008
Calcutta University has shown a marked answer script to a student for the first time in its 151-year history, forced to do so by the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Pritam Rooz, a B.Sc Part-II examinee from Presidency College, saw his mathematics Paper V (honours) answer script on May 2 after obtaining an order from Calcutta High Court.

The court had observed that the RTI Act empowered a student to see his/her answer scripts after evaluation.

“The court had ordered the university a month ago to show the script to Pritam. But the authorities obtained leave to move the Supreme Court against the verdict. Later, following discussions with legal experts, we decided to carry out the high court order,” said a senior university official.

Pritam, however, alleged that he was not given a photocopy of the script as “ruled by the court”.

“The university only allowed me to see the paper once,” he said.

Sambuddha Chakrabarti, in-charge of the legal cell of the university, refused comment.

Pritam had scored only 28 in mathematics Paper V. He had applied for a review, after which the marks were increased to 32. The student pleaded with the authorities to show him the paper, but the request was turned down. Pritam then moved the high court, arguing that the university had violated the RTI Act by refusing to show him the script.

Citing the ruling, 52 candidates from various universities and boards have moved the court with similar pleas.

[prawinda]

Originally Posted by wagh7

Sirs,

In many cases , we are knowing the facts but the concerned department or section does not agree to that. Under such circumstances to know the details what they are (i.e. the Department or section) having in the concrned file so that the applicant can satisfy about the information that is kept in the files is containg all related documents and nothing is lost.

In the case of examination answer scripts, if a student is claiming he should get more marks, and the department say it is not. In such case one thing could have been happened that some of his answer sheets are missed or some mischief might have been happened with his answer sheets.

As I remember one Xth class examination result of my town in Andhra pradesh (around 14 years back), one girl failed in a subject, where as she was claiming that she answered all questions with correct answers.

The parents of the girls took the issue very seriously and strongly fought with the Board, finally board took a decision to re-conduct that paper for single girl and then the girl stood with distinction.

If such things happen, the students will be loosing their life. We should appreciate the students who are fighting for justice and asking for xerox certified copies to know whether all the answer scripts they wrote in exam are evaluated or not. It is a genuine demand from the student.

When CIC gave a decision to disclouse the answer sheets of departmental examination, then why not the Board examination papers?

Let us wait and hope the best.

rakatkam.

Will you please provide us the details of judgement like case number or where will the High court case be available?

[karira]

Pravin,

Please visit The Judgment Information System
Go to the Kolkata High Court site.
Check for orders from Judge Sanjib Banerjee.
Between 15/04/2008 and 29/04/2008.

Unfortunately, as of today only those orders till 15 March 2008 have been uploaded.

[prawinda]

Thank you very much for your instant reply and help.
Regards,
Pravin.

[sidmis]

See a similar post here.
Give answer copy to students: Information Commission, Bihar

[sandeepbaheti]

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