Can we substitute the state's decision and say the situation in Maharashtra is conducive to hold exams? questioned the Bombay High Court bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni on Tuesday, to a Pune-based professor, who has challenged the state's decision to cancel class 10 exams.
The bench was seized with a plea filed by Prof. Dhananjay Kulkarni through advocate Uday Warunjikar seeking directives to the state to not cancel the SSC exams in absence of a proper assessment scheme.
When the matter was called out for hearing on Tuesday, Warunjikar informed the bench that the state has filed an affidavit on Monday stating that the SSC exams aren't as important as HSC exams.
At this Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for the state said that the situation isn't conducive in the state.
Warunjikar, however, disputed the submission and said that the numbers of Covid cases have gone down and situation is a bit in control.
Interrupting Warunjikar's submission, CJ Datta said, "No Mr counsel. Though numbers have come down but Covid19 is targeting more youngsters now."
"You (Warunjikar) will to address us on the legal issue as to whether can we substitute the state's stand that the situation is not conducive to hold exams and we say that no the situation is conducive and you should hold exams," the chief justice added.
The bench accordingly adjourned the matter for hearing till Thursday.
Notably, a bench led by Justice Shahrukh Kathawalla had come down heavily on the state for making mockery of the education system by cancelling the class 10 exams. The bench had also sought to know from the state why it discriminated between class 12 and 10 students as it hadn't cancelled the HC exams.
The state in it's affidavit filed on Monday has said that HSC is relatively more important as the student's career is more depended on these exams and not the SSC exams.
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