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Citation Codes
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Case Number
Attorney(S)
  • J.P Jain, for Petitioners;
  • B.P Beri, for Central Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer
Judges
  • Mr. K.L. Bapna
  • Mr. Kumar Krishna Sharma
Acts
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Cites
Cited by
Citation Codes
Equivalent Citations
citation codes
Case Number
Attorney(S)
  • J.P Jain, for Petitioners;
  • B.P Beri, for Central Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer
Judges
  • Mr. K.L. Bapna
  • Mr. Kumar Krishna Sharma
Acts
See more information ...
Smart Summary

Structured Summary of the Opinion (Bapna, J.; Sharma, J. concurring)

Factual and Procedural Background

This summary is compiled solely from the provided opinion text.

The Central Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer (the "Board") was constituted by Government of India resolution to conduct High School and Intermediate examinations for students in Ajmer. In September 1956 the Board informed certain students that they were ineligible to sit for the High School Examination of March 1957 because they had not attained 14 years of age on the prescribed date. The exclusion was based on Regulation No. 20 of the Board (passed April 1954), which prescribes that no candidate under 14 shall be permitted to appear at the High School Examination and no candidate under 16 at the Intermediate Examination; age is to be calculated on 1st March of the year of the examination.

Multiple petitions (Nos. 260/1956, 261/1956, 262/1956 and 253/1956) were filed by students of various Ajmer schools seeking declaration that Regulation No. 20 is void as violative of Article 14 of the Constitution (alleged discrimination because Rajputana University had no corresponding lower age-limit), and seeking prohibition of enforcement of the Regulation against them. The Board filed a reply denying violation of fundamental rights, asserting Regulation No. 20 applied uniformly to all who sought to appear in Board examinations, and stating the Regulation had been published and communicated to recognised institutions in 1954.

During arguments it appeared that (i) the Board had been reconstituted by Government resolution dated 31 October 1956 to be usable by any State and to affiliate institutions across the Indian Union; and (ii) the Board had registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act on 2 January 1935 and claimed authority to frame regulations for its examinations. The petitions were heard and the court dismissed them with costs.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether Regulation No. 20 of the Central Board, prescribing minimum ages (14 for High School, 16 for Intermediate) for appearing at Board examinations, is discriminatory and void under Article 14 of the Constitution because Rajputana University has no comparable lower-age limit, thereby discriminating against Ajmer students.
  2. Whether the character of the Central Board (its constitution, registration as a society and control by Government of India) brings the Board or its Regulations within the meaning of "State" or "law" under Article 12 and Article 13(3)(a) of the Constitution (this issue was raised but, as explained by Sharma, J., was not necessary to decide in this case).

Arguments of the Parties

Petitioners' Arguments

  • Regulation No. 20 is discriminatory in violation of Article 14 because the Rajputana University permits candidates below 14 to sit for its High School examination while the Board does not, resulting in discrimination against Ajmer students who are attached to the Board examinations.
  • They sought a declaration that Regulation No. 20 is void and an injunction preventing the Board from enforcing it against them for the March 1957 examination.
  • It was also argued that the petitioners were not aware of the Regulation until September 1956 and that it would be unjust to prevent them from appearing in the March 1957 Board examination because earlier notice would have allowed them to join other institutions where no such bar existed.

Board's Arguments (Respondent)

  • No fundamental right of the petitioners was engaged by the Regulation.
  • Regulation No. 20 is uniformly applicable to all candidates who seek to appear in Board examinations and does not discriminate among those candidates.
  • Article 14 is inapplicable where the rules or directions compared emanate from different authorities; the Rajputana University examination is a separate examination by a different authority.
  • The Regulation was passed in April 1954, duly advertised in newspapers and communicated to recognised institutions; hence candidates desiring to take Board examinations were presumed to accept the Regulation and to have notice of it.
  • The Board, although constituted by Government resolution, is a juristic person registered under the Societies Registration Act and is entitled to frame regulations governing qualifications for candidates for its examinations. The Government's control does not convert the Board into the "State" for the purposes of Article 12 (as argued in the opinion).

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
State of Madhya Pradesh v. G.C. Mandawar Where the sources of authority for two statutes (or regulatory authorities) are different, Article 14's prohibition against discrimination does not apply to comparisons between them. The court relied on this ruling to hold that comparison between the Central Board's examination regulations and those of the Rajputana University is inappropriate for an Article 14 challenge, because the two examinations emanate from different authorities; therefore Regulation No. 20 is not discriminatory merely because the University prescribes no similar age limit.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court's analysis proceeded along these principal lines (as set out in the opinion):

  1. Characterisation of the Regulation: Regulation No. 20 prescribes minimum ages (14 for High School; 16 for Intermediate) and provides that age is to be calculated on 1st March of the examination year. The Regulation applies to all candidates who wish to sit for the Board's examinations.
  2. Relevance of comparison with Rajputana University: The court held that the Rajputana University's High School examination is "different and separate" from the Board's examination even if both are called "High School Examination" and may be treated as equivalent for certain admission purposes. Thus the mere absence of an age-limit in the University does not render the Board's age-limit discriminatory.
  3. Authority to make Regulations: The Central Board, though constituted by Government resolution, had registered as a society (Societies Registration Act) and adopted rules, regulations and bye-laws; it is a juristic person entitled to frame regulations governing its examinations and the qualifications of candidates. The court emphasised that other universities or boards likewise have authority to prescribe their own qualifications.
  4. Article 14 and source-of-authority principle: The court applied the holding in State of Madhya Pradesh v. G.C. Mandawar that Article 14 does not apply where the two instruments compared emanate from distinct sources of authority. Therefore, a difference in rules between distinct examining authorities does not by itself amount to unconstitutional discrimination under Article 14.
  5. State action and "law": The majority (Bapna, J.) concluded that the Regulation is not discriminatory and stated that the Government's control over the Board does not make the Board a "State" within Article 12. The opinion also states that the Board's regulations are not "laws" within the meaning of Article 12. (Sharma, J. expressly agreed with the result but stated it was unnecessary to decide whether the Board is "State" or whether the Regulation is "law" within Articles 12/13; he therefore refrained from expressing an opinion on that aspect.)
  6. Publication and notice: The Regulation had been passed in April 1954 and—according to the Secretary of the Board—was published in newspapers and intimated to recognised institutions. The court accepted that publication and communication had been made, and therefore petitioners (or their guardians) must be presumed to have known of the age-limits.
  7. Conclusion on merits: On these bases the court found no force in the petitioners' contentions that Regulation No. 20 violated Article 14 or that it was otherwise invalid as applied to the petitioners seeking to appear in March 1957.

Holding and Implications

Petitions dismissed with costs.

Direct consequences:

  • The petitioners were not permitted to rely on Article 14 to invalidate Regulation No. 20, and therefore the Board's age-limits remained enforceable against them for the March 1957 examination.
  • The court treated the Board's Regulation as applicable to all candidates for Board examinations and accepted the Board's account that the Regulation was publicly notified in 1954; accordingly the petitioners were presumed to have notice of it.

Broader implications and limits of the decision:

  • The decision reaffirms the principle (as applied here) that Article 14 cannot be invoked to strike down a rule of one autonomous examining authority simply because another distinct authority adopts a different rule, when the sources of authority differ (relying on State of Madhya Pradesh v. G.C. Mandawar).
  • The court did not lay down a conclusive ruling on whether the Central Board is a "State" under Article 12 or whether its Regulations qualify as "law" under Article 13; Justice Sharma specifically noted that it was unnecessary to decide those questions in this case and accordingly expressed no opinion on them. Therefore no new precedent was established on those constitutional characterization issues by this judgment.

End of summary. This document reflects only the facts, arguments, legal reasoning and outcomes that appear in the provided opinion text; no information has been added beyond that source.

Show full summary ...

    Surendra Kumar Jain v. Central Board Of Secondary Education, Ajmer

    Bapna, J.:— These four petitions raise identical issues, and are dealt with by a single judgment.

    2. The broad facts alleged on behalf of the petitioners are that the Central Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer, was constituted by a resolution of the Government of India, Ministry of Education, to conduct the High School and Intermediate Examination of the students reading at Ajmer. The said Board in the month of September, 1956, intimated to the petitioners that they were not eligible to sit for the High School Examination of 1957 as they were below 14 years of age. A long correspondence with various authorities was carried on by Dr. Manohar Lal Bhargava, on behalf of all such students who had not attained the age of 14 years on the prescribed date, but without any result.

    3. Regulation No. 20 passed by the Central Board, in pursuance whereof the petitionees were not held qualified to appear at the High School Examination, 1957, is as follows:—

    “Notwithstanding anything contained in the Regulation of the Hoard, no candidate who is less than 14 years of age will be permitted to a pear at the High School Examination of the Board and no candidate who is less than 16 years of age will be allowed to appear at the Intermediate Examination of the Board.”

    By a note it was provided that—

    “Age of candidates as per this Regulation will be calculated on the first of Match, of the year in which a candidate would appear at an examination. If any candidate on this date is found to have not completed the age prescribed, he will not be admitted to the examination.”

    Certain exceptions were made, with which we are not concerned.

    4. The petitioners challenge this Regulation of the Board on the ground that it is hit by Art. 14 of Constitution, inasmuch as the Rajputana University has no lower age-limit for students appearing at the High School Examination of that University, and that therefore, only the students of the Ajmer schools find themselves discriminated. It is prayed that Regulation No. 20 framed by the Board as aforesaid be declared void, and the Central Board may be prohibited from enforcing the said Regulation against the petitioners.

    5. Petition No. 260 of 1956 is by Surendra Kumar and Sushil Kumar, both students of the D.A.V High School, Ajmer, and desire to sit at the High School Examination of the Board in March, 1957.

    6. Petition No. 261 is by Basant Kumar and Inderchand reading at the Husband Memorial High School, Ajmer, who wish to sit at the High School Examination of the Board in March, 1957.

    7. Petition No. 262 is by Jitendra Singh reading in Gautam High School Ajmer, and wishing to appear at the High School Examination of 1957.

    8. Petition No. 253 of 1956 is by Sudharshan Kumar, Arun Kumar, Vijendra Kishan, Mahesh Narain, Vinod Bhushan Kumar, Balbir Singh, Rajendra Singh, Bhagwat Swaroop, and Umesh Kumar, who are students of Government Higher Secondary School, Ajmer and wish to appear for the High School Examination of the Board in March, 1957.

    9. The reply on behalf of the Board is that no fundamental right of the petitioners is involved. The Central Board provides for the education of students in certain are is by virtue of Government Resolution dated 1st July, 1924, and its subsequent amendments, and does not make discrimination amongst any of its students. Regulation 20, which is challenged by the petitioners is applicable to all students who wish to appear for the examinations of the Board. It was also urged that Art. 14 of the Constitution was inapplicable where the rules or directions sought to be compared were issued by different authorities. It was further urged that this Regulation No. 20 was passed by the Board in April, 1954, and was duly advertised, and intimetion thereof was given to all the heads of institutions recognised by the Hoard, and, therefore, the students, who desired to take any examination of the Board, could be presumed to have done to subject to the aforesaid Regulation as also all other Regulations that had been framed by the Board from time to time.

    10. During the course of arguments it transpired that while previously the Central Board of High School and Intermediate Examination was established to supervise and regulate secondary educadtion in certain Part C States and Part D territories, the Government of India by Resolution of 31st October, 1956, reconstituted the Board so that its services cold be availed of by any State in the Indian Union, and it was granted power to affiliate institutions which are located in any part of Union and which wish to prepare candidates for the examination of the Board, vide Gazette of India, Part 1—Sec. 1, of November 10, 1956. It was also found that although the Board was originally constituted by the Resolution of the Government of India dated 1st July, 1929, and subsequent amendment thereof, the Board registered itself as a Society under the Societies Registration Act (No. XXI of 1860) on 2nd January, 1935, which had for its regulation the resolutions of the Government starting from 1st July, 1929, and subsequent amendments, as also the Regulations and Rules and Bye-laws framed by the Board adopted all these Rules. Regulations and Bye-laws by resolution of the Government of India, dated 31st October, 1956.

    11. In my opinion, Regulation 20 of the Board prescribing the age-limit to be not less than 14 years for appearance at the High School Examination and to be not less than 16 years for appearance at the Intermediate Examination of the Board is not discriminatory and is not hit by Art. 14 of the Constitution. The aforesaid Regulation is applicable to all students who wish to appear at the examination held by the Hoard. The fact that the Rajputana University has no such lower limit for age for its own High School Examination is irrelevant, for that examination is quite different and separate from the examination that is conduct by the Central Board, and it is immaterial that the name of the examination is High School examination held by either of the two authorities, and is also considered equivalent for purposes of admission in the Intermediate Glasses in Colleges affiliated to the Board or to the University.

    12. Learned counsel for the petitioners contended that as Ajmer now forms part of Rajasthan only students reading in the Ajmer schools, who are below 14, are barred from appearing at the High School Examination of the Board, while the other students in Rajasthan, who take the High School Examination of the Rajputana University are not so disqualified.

    13. As stated earlier, the two examinations are entirely different prescribed by different authorities. As observed in the State of Madhya Pradesh v. G.C Mandawar (1) where the sources of authority for the two statutes are different, Art. 14 can have no application. This is emphasised by the fact that from 31st October, 1956, the Board is not only for Ajmer, but its services may be availed of by any State in the Indian Union, and it was given power to affiliate institutions which are located in any part of the Union, and which wish to prepare candidates for the examination of the Board. The Central Board of Secondary Education, though formed under the resolution of the Government of India is a juristic person, having been registered under the Societies Registration Act, and it is entitled to frame its own regulations for the conduct of its business as for the examination which it may hold, and for the qualifications entitling the candidates to sit its examination. For the same reason the Rajputana University, or for that matter any other University, or Board, is entitled to make its own regulations and prescribe qualifications which may entitle candidates to appear at the examination held by such Board or University. The fact that the Government of India has control over the Central Board of Secondary Education does not make it a State within the meaning of Art. 12 of the Constitution.

    14. The Regulation framed by the Board are not laws within the meaning of Art. 12 of the Constitution. The Resolution of the Government or the Regulations, Rules and Bye-laws did not emanate from any legislative authority. There is no force in the contentions raised by the petitioners.

    15. it was faintly argued that the petitioners did not know of this Regulation before September, 1956, and the bar had all of a sudden come upon them, and it would be unjust not to permit the applicants to appear at the Examination of the Board to be held in March, 1957, because if they had been intimated earlier, they could have joined any other institution affiliated to the Rajputana University or other organisation where the bar did not exist.

    16. The Regulation of the Board was passed in April, 1954, and according to the affidavit of the Secretary of the Board it was duly published in various newspapers, and intimation thereof was given to all institutions recognised by the Board, and if the petitioners did rut know, their parents or guardians should be presumed to know the age-limit of the bays appearing for the High School and Intermediate Examination of 1957. Various cuttings from the newspapers have been tiled, in which the resolution regarding age limit was published in 1954.

    17. There is no force in any of the contentions raised on behalf of the petitioners, and the petitions are accordingly dismissed with costs.

    Sharma, J.— I agree with the order proposed by my brother? Bapna J. I also agree with his view that the Rajputana University Board of High School and Intermediate Examination and the Central Hoard of Secondary Education, Ajmer, are two different authorities and the fixing of 14 years as the minimum age limit for the High School examination candidates and 16 years for Intermediate examination candidates by the said Central Board is not hit by Art. 14 of the Constitution of the India simply because the Rajputana University has prescribed no such age-limits. The ruling of their Lordship of the Supreme Court in the case of the State of Maddhya Pradesh v. G.C Mandawar (1), clearly lays down that where the sources of authority for the two statutes are different, Act 14 can have no application. The mere fact that the office of the Ajmer Secondary Board is also situated in Rajasthan and candidates from Rajasthan are also allowed to appear at the High School and Intermediate examinations of that Board and that the Rajputana University also has its office in Rajasthan and carries on examinations and allows candidates from Rajasthan to sit for its examination and has prescribed no age-limit, cannot attract the application of Art. 14. On this ground alone, therefore, the petitions deserve to be dismissed.

    2. I am, however, of opinion that under the circumstances of this case it is not necessary for us to decide whether the Central Board of Secondary Education, Ajmer comes within the definition of the word ‘State’ within the meaning of Art. 2 and the impugned Regulation at the Board comes within the definition of the term ‘law’ within the meaning of Art. 13(3)(a) of the Constitution of India. I do not therefore, express any opinion in this case so far as this aspect of the matter is concerned.

    By the Court—The petitions are dismissed with costs.

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    Comments

    Surendra Kumar Jain v. Central Board Of Secondary Education, Ajmer
    (Feb 1, 1957)