Stigma Of 'Unfair Means' Adversely Affects Candidate's Career, Must Be Supplied Relevant Docs, CCTV Footage To Enable Defence: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court recently came to the rescue of a doctor, whose candidature was rejected by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences and was barred from appearing in the exam for two years, over unsubstantiated allegations of using 'unfair means' during the exam.Justice Vikas Mahajan observed that the stigma of indulging in unfair means can adversely affect the career of a candidate and thus, the Exam authority must afford a meaningful opportunity of defence to the candidate by providing all the documents relied upon by them, including CCTV footage, if any.“The respondent ought to have the afforded a meaningful opportunity to the petitioner by furnishing all the documents including the written statement of the petitioner, available statements of exam functionaries, report of the appraiser, CCTV footage etc. which are either referred to and relied upon in the show cause notice, as well as, in the impugned order dated 29.10.204, or are otherwise relevant,” the Court observed in the facts of the case.As per the Board, the Petitioner was found copying from written slips during the exam and when she was caught red handed, she chewed and swallowed the slips.On perusing the CCTV footage of the exam, the High Court found no such case was made out.While the Board claimed that visuals of Petitioner's seat were blocked by a pillar, the High Court found that Petitioner was clearly visible and the view was not obstructed by any pillar, as sought to be contended.“The said CCTV footage…makes it evident that the petitioner is not seen putting the chits into her chest and later chewing and swallowing the same, as alleged. The respondent's counsel has also not been able to pin-point out any footage wherefrom it could be seen that the petitioner, when confronted, chewed and swallowed the chits.”The Court said normally, it would not interfere with the findings of fact arrived at by disciplinary authority however, in case of mala fides or perversities i.e. where there is no evidence to support a finding or where reasonable opportunity has not been given to a person to defend himself/herself, an exception can be created.The Court also slammed the Examination Ethics Committee for not examining the CCTV footage before passing the impugned decision.As such, the Board was direction to declare the Petitioner's result within two weeks.Appearance: Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Sr. Adv. with Ms. Priya Mittal and Ms. Nidhi Mittal, Advs. for Petitioner; Mr. Sunil J. Mathews, Ms. Jyoti Chib and Ms. Yashika Singh, Advs for RespondentCase title: Dr Aastha Raj v. National Board of Examinations in Medical SciencesCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 774Case no.: W.P.(C) 384/2025Click here to read order

Stigma Of 'Unfair Means' Adversely Affects Candidate's Career, Must Be Supplied Relevant Docs, CCTV Footage To Enable Defence: Delhi HC

Kapil Dhyani

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