Telling the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that it has been outwitted by those behind the mass exam fraud in the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) 2015, the Supreme Court on Friday said the sanctity of the exam is lost even if a single person has benefited using illegal means.
After an hour-long hearing, the court reserved the petitions made by students for fresh holding of AIPMT for final orders on June 15.
“You [CBSE] have been outwitted and outmanoeuvred by those using electronic gadgets,” a Bench of Justices R.K. Agarwal and Amitava Roy told the CBSE.
Appearing for the CBSE, Solicitor-General Ranjit Kumar opposed cancellation of the test, considering the herculean task of conducting the exam afresh for 6.3 lakh students across the country when only 44 have so far been found involved in the cheating scandal.
The students, through their counsel, referred to the Haryana police report to say that the number 44 was not conclusive as more students may be found involved in the scandal in future.
They said once the sanctity of the examination was lost, re-examination was the only option to restore confidence.
Over 355 mobile phones were used to slip in answer keys to students sitting in exam halls in various States.
During the hearing, Justice Roy said how the electronic medium and Information Technology have taken over our lives, resulting in large-scale ramifications as in the present case.
“We are not holding the CBSE guilty as such. The CBSE ought to have been cognisant of all these things [large-scale irregularities],” the judge said.
