Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jul 8: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Central government and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on a petition filed by Class 12 students from Gulf and West Asian countries seeking relief after disruptions to the 2026 board examination process due to regional conflict.
A Bench comprising Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe issued notices to the Centre and the CBSE on the petition, which was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution through advocate Vineet Jindal. The court also directed the petitioner to provide a copy of the plea to the Solicitor General before the next hearing.
The petition argues that thousands of students studying in GCC and West Asian countries faced exceptional circumstances during the 2026 board examinations because of the ongoing regional conflict, which disrupted examinations, affected studies and created uncertainty over their academic future.
Seeking judicial intervention, the petition requests the court to recognise these students as a specially affected category entitled to equitable relief due to the extraordinary conditions they encountered during the examination cycle.
It also challenges the CBSE's assessment policy issued on March 27, contending that the evaluation framework unfairly disadvantaged students from the affected regions. The petition urges the board to adopt a more transparent, equitable and non-discriminatory assessment mechanism.
Among the key reliefs sought is the grant of one-time moderation or grace marks to compensate for disruptions caused by conflict, displacement, psychological stress and irregularities in the examination process.
The petition further requests the CBSE to conduct special fresh examinations and improvement examinations for all subjects without limiting the number of papers students may choose to retake. It also seeks a "better-of-two" policy, allowing candidates to retain whichever score is more favourable.
In addition, the petition calls for the establishment of a transparent and time-bound system for review, verification and grievance redressal for students whose results were prepared under the March 27 assessment scheme.
The petitioners have also sought relaxation in higher education admission norms for the 2026-27 academic session. They have requested that the minimum qualifying aggregate under the Direct Admission of Students Abroad (DASA) Scheme be reduced from 75 per cent to 60 per cent as a one-time measure. A similar concession has been sought for admissions under the Children of Indian Workers in Gulf Countries (CIWG) category.
The plea further asks the court to direct universities, educational institutions and counselling authorities to safeguard the admissions of affected students by permitting provisional admissions wherever necessary and ensuring that applications are not rejected solely because of delayed or revised examination results.
To prevent students from losing an academic year, the petition also seeks a dedicated admission and counselling window after the declaration of revised results and completion of any special examinations.
According to the petition, numerous representations submitted by students, parents, educational institutions and community organisations to the CBSE and the Union Ministry of Education have not resulted in a comprehensive remedial framework to address the difficulties faced by candidates.
The petition maintains that the conflict affected the entire examination environment, regardless of whether individual examinations were cancelled or conducted, as students experienced widespread uncertainty, psychological distress and disruptions to their studies.
It also refers to representations from educational institutions claiming that the existing assessment methodology has caused significant academic disadvantage, including unusually low pass percentages, and argues that the results declared under the present system do not accurately reflect the students' actual academic ability or potential.
Stating that the educational future of thousands of students has been jeopardised by circumstances beyond their control, the petition urges the apex court to intervene and ensure that affected candidates are not denied fair opportunities for higher education.