The Delhi High Court, addressing a student’s plea concerning a geography question in the Class 12 board exam conducted in March of the previous year, emphasized the student’s right to receive due marks for correct answers. Presided over by Justice C Hari Shankar, the court directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to correct the student’s marksheet by awarding an additional five marks for the specific question.

The court emphasised that if an examiner has not deducted any marks below the maximum allotted for a question, the student is entitled to the full marks. It asserted that the consequences of an examiner’s error should not be borne by the student.

The bench highlighted that in case of an error in the examiner’s assessment, the benefit of doubt should favor the student unless the answer sheet explicitly indicates the examiner’s belief that the answer is incorrect.

Regarding question 27 in the geography paper of the Class 12 board examination held on March 2, 2023, the bench stated that the petitioner deserves full marks, emphasizing that the examiner determines the correctness of an answer.

The court clarified that the CBSE cannot entertain appeals on the examiner’s decision and asserted that a student should not be penalized for an examiner’s negligence in marking the answer sheet.

The petitioner argued that the examiner had marked two ticks against the answer, warranting full marks. In response, CBSE contended that without marks in the margin alongside the answer, the board could not allocate any marks for the response.