Reported by Timesofindia.indiatimes.com on Jul 11, 2012
HC seizes JE exam documents, cancels counselling in Tripura - The Times of India

AGARTALA: Corruption in Tripura state Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) has prompted Guwahati High Court's Agartala bench to seize all documents, including the answer scripts from Tripura Joint Entrance Board (TJEB), and stop further counseling on Tuesday. After verification of answer scripts obtained by a few students under RTI, the court found irregularities in evaluation and discrepancy in the statement of the board chairman before the court. The court officials, along with police, conducted a search in TJEB office immediately after the court's direction and seized all documents.

"In an affidavit submitted last week, TJEB chairman Dr Rakhal Debnath informed the high court that all the answer scripts have been kept in safe custody. However, today he said that answer scripts are available in the board office. This enraged the judge who ordered that all documents pertaining to the issue be seized," said petitioners' counsel Dipak Biswas.

Biswas, however, pointed out that TJEB had since the beginning adopted unfair means and refused to provide answer scripts to candidates under RTI Act. The board only handed over the answer scripts three days before counseling for medical and engineering seats were to begin. In the answer scripts, the petitioners found discrepancy in the marking system and a few students were not even awarded marks for correct answers, Biswas said.

The first case against TJEB was filed by one Baishali Pal of Agartala on June 11. Subsequently, 10 others had become party in the case and also filed two separate cases of manipulation of results. The court had sent the answer script of a medical aspirant to a handwriting expert in Guwahati on July 7 following an allegation of altering a few pages of the answer sheet.

The court had initially directed TJEB authorities to begin counseling for medical seat distribution from Tuesday barring at least three seats reserved for complainants until disposal of the case. However, with the plea of the petitioners the court ordered to halt counseling and seized the documents.

Three engineering and medical aspirants who had appeared for TJEB exams filed a case in the high court following getting discrepancy in their answer scripts obtained under RTI. According to allegations, as many as 100 candidates out of 2,500 students had been awarded less marks - ranging between 22 and 44 - in the examination. In some cases, it was found that the examiners had given marks to some students for the same answers.

"TBJE conducted the exam with multiple choice questions about two months ago, but the authorities are yet to publish the answer key, which is practice followed by all such other entrance boards across the country," petitioner Baishali Pal said. Moreover, it is mandatory for all the entrance boards to evaluate the answer scripts in Optical Marking Recognition (OMR) sheet to avoid human error, nepotism, corruption and ensure transparency in the entire process. TJEB did not follow the method and rather adopted all unfair means, she said, demanding fresh exam be conducted.

Meanwhile, opposition Congress has demanded re-checking of answer scripts, announcement of fresh merit list and a judicial enquiry into the entire process by a sitting judge. Leader of the opposition Ratan Lal Nath accused chief minister Manik Sarkar of maintaining silence over the issue and said the government had failed to file a case against the TJEB chairman or taken any action despite repeated complaints from different quarters.

"TJEB Chairman Dr Rakhal Debnath adopted a mischievous role since the exam was held and he stayed in Kolkata's Tripura Bhawan for seven days with the answer scripts in the name of evaluation. Several political leaders and top bureaucrats had met him there," Nath alleged. He added that the RTI found answer scripts had established the unfair means used by TJEB.