"Why are you harassing the students? You are the state. You should not behave like this. Don't make it an ego issue. If you are really concerned about the welfare of students, then please open good schools. Don't throttle them"
This is what a Supreme Court bench told the Government of Karnataka, via senior advocate Devadatt Kamat who was appearing for the state.
What is the appeal against?
The appeal being heard was filed by the Organisation for Unaided Recognised Schools against the March 22 judgement of the Karnataka High Court.
The division bench of the Karnataka High Court had allowed the Karnataka Government to hold Board exams for different classes for the academic year 2023-24. This overruled the March 6 order of a single judge's bench, stated a report by PTI.
The state government's decision of October 2023 to hold board exams for different classes through the Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) was nullified by the single judge of the high court.
What happened today?
The Supreme Court pulled up the Government of Karnataka, today, Monday, October 21, for holding Board exams for different classes and it has restrained it from releasing the Board exam results for Classes VIII, IX and X, until further orders.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, who was hearing the case, said that if the exam has not been conducted in any district, then it shall not be taken.
It also pointed out that no other state follows what the Government of Karnataka is doing, according to the PTI report.
The senior advocate representing the Karnataka government said that the state government has withdrawn a circular for conducting Board examinations for students of Classes V, VIII, IX and X in the current academic year in seven rural districts of the state.
The apex court was told that the exam was conducted in 24 other districts too.
The top court has directed the state government to file an affidavit giving the precise details of the exam in four weeks.
