Madras High Court Orders Probe Into Student's Exam Irregularities

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has taken a stern stance on exam irregularities, emphasizing that such conduct cannot be condoned and must be addressed with utmost seriousness. In a recent ruling, Justice GR Swaminathan ordered a CB-CID (Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department) probe into allegations of malpractice by a student during the Class 12 board examinations conducted in March and April 2023.

This decision came in response to a petition filed by the student's father, V Vinayakamoorthy, who contested a memo issued by the joint director (JD) of examinations (higher secondary) at the Directorate of Government Examinations on June 28, 2023. The memo had raised concerns about discrepancies in the student's handwriting in mathematics, chemistry, and physics answer sheets.

The petitioner argued that although the memo had asked his son to provide an explanation for the handwriting differences, the joint director had nullified all the examinations written by his son. The petitioner contended that the joint director had preconceived his son's involvement in malpractice without conducting a proper inquiry or issuing a show cause notice. As a result, he sought the court's intervention to annul the memo and request the issuance of a mark sheet for his son.

Justice Swaminathan highlighted that in accordance with previous court directives, the special intelligence cell in Madurai had conducted an investigation and filed a status report. This report revealed the existence of a larger network involved in the alleged malpractice. Consequently, the judge believed that no interference was necessary in this matter. The student has the opportunity to provide an explanation during a personal inquiry scheduled for November 9 with the joint director. If the penalty is deemed excessive, the student is free to seek the court's intervention once more.

Additionally, the judge instructed the Joint Director (JD) to report the matter to the Madurai City Crime Branch, with further directions to the Crime Branch to file an FIR (First Information Report) and forward it to the additional director general of police of the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID).

In a separate case, another student from the same private school had filed a similar petition seeking similar relief. The judge dismissed this petition on similar grounds, granting the student the liberty to approach the court again if they believe the punishment is disproportionate.