Jayanta Kumar Biswas, J. - (1.) On instructions counsel for the council of higher secondary education submits that the matter may be decided at the admission stage on the basis of the records produced. His submission is that if this court holds that on the facts of the case the council authority ought to have granted registration to the student, then for the lapses admitted by the school authority it should be directed to pay exemplary costs. To this, counsel for the school authority leaves the matter entirely to the discretion of the court. Counsel for the petitioner submits that unless registration is granted to the petitioner, a gross miscarriage of justice will take place for the lapses on the part of someone working in the school.
(2.) It is the common case of both the petitioner and the school authority that with all other students intending to take the Higher Secondary Examination, 2007 the petitioner submitted the duly filled in application seeking registration from the council. The case of the school authority is that while applications submitted by all other students were duly forwarded to the council and they got registration, at a later stage it detected that for some mistake committed by some clerk application of the petitioner had not been sent to the council. This case of the petitioner and the school authority did not impress the authority did not impress the council authority. That authority rather recorded a finding that the petitioner in collusion with the school authority concocted a story to cover up the negligence.
(3.) In my view, the authority was not justified in recording the finding that the petitioner and the school authority entered into a collusion for covering up the lapses on the part of the petitioner. When the head of the institute informed the council that the petitioner had duly submitted his application for registration, but for lapses on the part of the school the application did not reach the council office, in my view, the authority of the council, in the absence of any clinching evidence, was not competent to record a finding of fact regarding collusion. The other difficulties indicated by the council authority, it seems to me, are not insurmountable.;