N.D.Ojha, J. - (1.) THIS special appeal is directed against an order of a learned Single Judge dated December 22, 1971 in Civil Misc. Writ No. 4669 of 1971. The respondent passed his VIII Standard Exa mination in December, 1967 from the St. Joseph High School, Allahabad. Thereafter he discontinued his studies in the aforesaid school and appeared in the High School Examination held in March/April 1969 as a private candidate. It seems, taking the view that the respondent was not entitled to ap pear in the said examination his result was withheld by the Board and he was in formed that unless he obtained exemption from the State Government under Sec tion 9 (4) of the U. P. Intermediate Educa tion Act (hereinafter referred to as Act) his result could not be declared. The respon dent thereafter made numerous representa tions to the State Government but without any success. He then filed the aforesaid writ petition for quashing of the orders of the State Government refusing to grant ex emption to him and for a mandamus di recting the Secretary, Board of High School and Intermediate Education to declare his result. He also made a prayer for a manda mus commanding the State Government to grant the necessary exemption after consi dering his various applications made in this behalf. The writ petition was allowed by a learned Single Judge on December 22, 1971 whereby the Secretary, Board of High School and Intermediate Education was directed to declare the result of the res pondent's examination. Aggrieved the State Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Sec retary, Board of High School and Interme diate Education have filed the present ap peal.
(2.) THE learned Standing Counsel has reiterated his submission which was made before the learned Single Judge, viz., that the respondent was not entitled to appear in the High School Examination held in March/April 1969. In support of his conten tion he has placed reliance upon Regulation 10 (i) (a) (i) (g) and Regulation 11 of the Regulations framed under the Act as also upon the definition of the words "academic year" or "academical year" as contained in Chapter I of the said Regulations. The word "academic year" has been de fined as under: "In these regulations, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or con text, the following terms shall have the following meanings:- ............(15) "Academic year" or "academical year" means the period from the 1st July to the 30th June, following." It would also be convenient to quote the relevant Regulations relied upon by the learned Standing Counsel. "10 (i) (A) (i) (g): The High School Examination shall not be open to private candidates except those who belong to any one of the following categories: (i) Candidates who have passed any of the following examinations, provided two academical years have elapsed from the date of their passing the said examination: (g) The Standard VIII Examination of 1956, onwards or the Standard VII Exami nation of an earlier year of an Anglo-Indian School in Uttar Pradesh or an equivalent examination of an Anglo-Indian School in another State. 11. A candidate leaving an Anglo-Indian School shall not be admitted to the High School Examination till the academi cal year preceding that in which he would have been eligible for admission to the Cam bridge School Certificate Examination if he had continued at the Anglo-Indian School. It was urged that the respondent having passed his VIII Standard Examina tion in December, 1967 from St. Joseph High School, Allahabad, which was an Anglo-Indian School as contemplated by the aforesaid Regulations was not entitled to ap pear in the High School Examination held in March/April 1969 because of the bar created by the aforesaid Regulations. Learn ed Standing Counsel contended that two academical years from December, 1967 within the meaning of Regulation 10 (i) (A) (i) (g) would have elapsed on June, 30, 1970. It was also urged that had the res pondent continued his studies as a regular student in St. Joseph School he would have been eligible for admission to the Cam bridge School Certificate Examination in December, 1971, which would be academi cal year beginning from July 1, 1971 and ending on June 30, 1972 and the preceding academical year as contemplated by Regu lation 11 would have been the year com mencing from July 1, 1970, and ending on June 30, 1971. It was thus urged that the respondent was entitled to appear in the High School Examination as a private can didate in the academical year commencing from July 1, 1970 and ending on June 30, 1971.
(3.) IN paragraph 2 of the writ peti tion it has been stated that it was com mon practice that after passing VIII Stan dard in December of any year, a student joins IX Class in January of succeeding year and appears in High School Examination conducted by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education in the month of March/April of year succeeding next to the year of his passing VIII Standard as a regu lar student or a private student. Sri Har Prasad Tewari, Deputy Secretary of the Board of High School and Intermediate Edu cation, U. P., Allahabad, has filed a counter-affidavit, in paragraph 4 whereof he has ad mitted that after passing Standard VIII from any Anglo-Indian Institution recognis ed by the Education Department in the month of December of any year if a stu dent joins Class IX in any institution re cognised by the Board in January of the succeeding year and passes Class IX Exa mination in May/June he would be eligible to appear in the High School Examination ofi the succeeding year as a private or regular candidate.;