STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: A Division Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Alok Aradhe imposed costs on J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) on account of negligence on the part of the Invigilator of the Examination Hall and Deputy Superintendent of the Examination Centre which lead to deprivation of chance to one aspirant namely Pankaj Sharma to get admission to PG degree course in the year 2015.
The decision came in a LPA filed against the judgment of Writ Court by BOPEE whereby Writ Court directed to evaluate the OMR answer sheet of Paper-II of the Pankaj Sharma while taking the Question Booklet Series “B” instead of “A” and to withdraw the merit of respondent Pankaj Sharma and based on which consider her for selection for admission to the PG course within a period of 2 weeks.
The DB after hearing Advocate Asheesh Singh Kotwal for the BOPEE whereas senior Advocate Sunil Sethi with Advocate Paras Gupta for Pankaj Sharma, daughter of Ravi Dutt Sharma, resident of Sangrampur, Tehsil and District, Jammu observed that respondent is a meritorious candidate who got admission to PG Degree course in the year 2016.
By virtue of inadvertent error committed by her as well as the negligence on the part of the Invigilator of the Examination Hall and Deputy Superintendent of the Examination Centre she lost her chance to get admission to PG degree course in the year 2015. “Thus we can safely hold that the quantum of compensation at Rs. 1 lakh can be fixed. The negligence being on the part of the Pankaj also, she can get 50 per cent of the amount of compensation determined”, the court observed adding that ends of justice would be met by awarding a sum of Rs. 50,000 as compensation to Pankaj for the negligence committed by the Invigilator of the Examination Hall and Deputy Superintendent of the Examination Centre in not ensuring the fact that she has wrongly mentioned Question Booklet Series “A” instead of “B”.
Considering that the mistake is on the part of the Pankaj Sharma as well as the culpable negligence on the part of the Invigilator of the Examination Hall and Deputy Superintendent of the Examination Centre, the DB quantified the cost of litigation as Rs. 25,000, of which the Pankaj is entitled to get 50 per cent only i.e. Rs. 12,500, which shall be paid by the BOPEE. The compensation as well as the costs awarded amounting to Rs. 62,500 shall be paid to the first respondent within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order.