B. D. Agarwal, J. - (1.) THE writ petitions have been referred to this Full Bench since doubt was raised in regard to correctness of the decision of a Division Bench in Writ Petition No. 14069 of 1981 (Umesh Singh v. Vice Chancellor, Gorakhpur University) and connected petitions dated January 15, 1982 and a question of general importance affecting a large number of examinees is involved.
(2.) ON September 12, 1981 the Examinations Committee, Gorakhpur University resolved accepting the report of a sub-committee that if the Centre Superintendent, the Observer, the Centre Invigilator, the Flying Squad or the Examiner reports that mass copying has been resorted to in relation to any examination paper at a Centre, and, in case there is no report from the Examiner, upon confirmation by him that mass copying has taken place, there may be deduction made upto 30% out of the maximum papers (numbers ?) in the concerned paper affecting all the examinees at the particular Centre, under the order of a Sub Committee comprising of the Dean of Faculty, the Head of the Department and a Teacher nominated by the Head of the Department. In Writ Petition No. 10552 of 1982 the petitioner secured 55 out of 75 marks in English II Paper in B.A. (Part II) Examination wherin she appeared in April/May, 1982 as a regular student in the St. Andrews College, Gorakhpur. Due to the deduction made to the extent of 30% from the maximum in this paper she was left with 33 marks only-the aggregate being 300 out of 450. The contention is that but for this deduction she would have topped the merit list. In B.A. (Part I) she got 66.6% marks in English and the total was 327 out of 450. In the Intermediate examination 1980 conducted by the U. P. Board of High School & Intermediate Education she obtained First Division with distinction in Sanskrit securing 65% in English and 66.3% in the aggregate. In the High School Examination, 1978 also she got First Division with distinction in English, Sanskrit, Home Science having secured 77% marks in English. In Writ Petition No. 11275 of 1983 the eighteen petitioners appeared in the M.A. (Previous) Examination in politics as the regular students of the K. B. Post Graduate College, Mirzapur affiliated to the Gorakhpur University. The examination in paper II (Theory and Practice of Modren Government) took place on April 19, 1983. To pass, a candidate has to secure 36% marks in the aggregate. Due to the deduction made to the extent of 30% out of the maximum of 100 in Paper II aforesaid, the petitioners Nos. 3 to 18 were declared "failed" while petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 passed but suffered loss in Division.
(3.) THE five petitioners in Writ Petition no. 11530 of 1983 appeared in B.Sc. (Agriculture) (Part I) Examination as regular students of the Murli Manohar Post Graduate College, Ballia affiliated to the Gorakhpur University in April 1983. On account of the deduction of 30% marks in paper VI (Animal Husbandry) they were declared 'failed' though in other papers they secured nearly First class marks. In Writ Petition No. 11528 of 1983 the three petitioners appeared in the B. Ed. (Final) Examination, 1983 at the Shri Durgaji Sant Kottar Mahavidyalaya, Chandeshwar, Azamgarh affiliated to the same University as regular students. The marks sheets sent to the College showed them as passed with the aggregate of 225, 245 and 227 marks out of 500 in relation to the petitioners 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Later there was deduction made of 30 marks out of 100 in Theory papers I and II answered by each of these candidates and in the result all of them were declared as having failed.;