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The Whistle for Public Interest (WHIP) has moved the Supreme Court against the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE), claiming that the latter charges excessive fees for obtaining answer sheets. Mr. Kumar Shanu and Mr. Paras Jain, cofounders of WHIP, have argued in the contempt petition that the fee of Rs. 1200 per answer sheet is violative of the Supreme Court judgement laid down in CBSE & Anr. v. Aditya Bandhopadhyay & Ors.
In the case, the Apex Court had held answer sheets to be within the ambit of ‘information’ under Section 2(f) of the Right to Information Act, 2002. The Apex Court had stated that the answer sheets, after evaluation, were a document or record of the evaluator’s ‘opinion’ and every student has a fundamental right of access to these records. Further, the RTI act mandates a 10 rupees fee in addition to the 2 rupees application fees, as against the CBSE’s Rs. 1200 fees. The contempt petition was filed after the Board put the fees on their official website and is not the first petition against the steep charges. The same organization, which is known for working towards transparency and accountability in the affairs of public authorities, had filed a contempt petition in 2016. The Division Bench, comprising of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and P.C. Pant had directed the CBSE to “scrupulously observe” the directions laid down in its 2011 judgement. Despite this, the CBSE has yet again hiked its fees via a May 31 notification. The contempt petition is likely to be heard by the vacation bench of the Supreme Court.
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