The Supreme Court was informed on Friday that the Union government is considering formulating a policy to address the concerns of private students in West Asian countries whose Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class XII results could not be declared due to the cancellation of examinations amid the ongoing conflict and security situation in the region.
The Vacation Bench of Justice AG Masih and Justice Vijay Bishnoi was hearing a writ petition filed by an overseas student studying in Saudi Arabia who sought directions to the CBSE to declare his Class XII Improvement Examination result. Taking note of the submissions made on behalf of the Union government, the Court adjourned the matter and listed it for further hearing next Friday.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the issue extended beyond the individual grievance raised in the petition and involved a larger category of similarly situated students. He submitted that the government was examining the matter and considering the formulation of a policy framework to deal with cases involving private candidates whose examinations could not be conducted due to the prevailing situation in West Asia.
The petition has been filed by Pransu Jigarkumar Patel, who challenged the CBSE’s failure to declare his Class XII Improvement Examination result despite the Board having framed a special assessment mechanism for students whose examinations were cancelled in several Gulf countries because of security concerns arising from regional hostilities.
According to the petition, CBSE declared Class XII results on May 13, 2026. However, Patel’s result was not announced and his status was marked as “Result Later”. He contended that despite being similarly placed to other students affected by the cancellation of examinations, he had been denied the benefit of the assessment scheme introduced by the Board.
The petitioner argued that the CBSE had not clarified whether private candidates appearing for improvement examinations were covered under the special assessment scheme formulated for students in affected West Asian countries. He maintained that private candidates were equally impacted by the cancellation of examinations and should therefore receive the same benefit as regular students.
Prior to approaching the Supreme Court, Patel had moved the Delhi High Court seeking similar relief. However, the High Court declined to entertain his plea.
On June 8, a vacation Bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Vijay Bishnoi had issued notice to the CBSE and its Regional Officer. During that hearing, the Court had orally observed that the issue directly affected the academic future and career prospects of students and had urged the CBSE to find an appropriate solution.
The petitioner stated that he appeared as a private candidate for the 2026 Class XII Improvement Examination from Al Jubail in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Having earlier appeared for the Class XII examination in 2025, he had registered for improvement in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English and Computer Science.
However, due to escalating military hostilities and security concerns in the region, CBSE cancelled several Class XII examinations scheduled to be held in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. As a consequence, Patel was able to appear only in Physics and Chemistry, while examinations in Mathematics, English and Computer Science were cancelled.
Following these developments, CBSE issued a notification dated March 27, 2026, introducing an assessment scheme for declaration of Class XII results in West Asian countries. The scheme was intended to address the academic concerns of students whose examinations remained pending because of the cancellations.
Under the assessment framework, students with pending examinations were to be evaluated on the basis of their academic performance reflected in school records. For subjects carrying 70 or 80 theory marks, schools were required to provide marks obtained in quarterly examinations, half-yearly examinations and pre-board examinations, with the highest score among the three being considered for assessment purposes.
The scheme further provided that students dissatisfied with the assessed result could be given an opportunity to appear in fresh examinations in the affected subjects if circumstances later permitted. Mathematics, English Core and Computer Science were specifically identified by CBSE as subjects whose examinations could not be conducted in the affected countries.
According to the petition, the petitioner studied at the International Indian School, Al Jubail, and all records relating to his quarterly, half-yearly and pre-board examinations are available with the institution. It was contended that these records could readily be used by CBSE to assess and declare his result under the special assessment scheme.
The petitioner further submitted that the delay in declaration of his result had adversely affected his higher education prospects. He stated that he had applied for admission to the B.Tech programme in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Dhirubhai Ambani University and was required to update his Class XII result status by June 1, 2026. Owing to the non-declaration of his result, he was unable to complete the admission process and was also prevented from applying to other educational institutions.
The petition contended that CBSE’s failure to declare the result despite the existence of a special assessment mechanism was arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory. It was argued that such action violated the petitioner’s fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The petitioner also alleged hostile discrimination, contending that he was similarly situated to other students affected by the cancellation of examinations in West Asian countries but had been denied the benefit of the assessment scheme without any rational basis. He argued that students could not be penalised for examination cancellations caused by war-related circumstances and security concerns beyond their control.
The petition seeks directions to CBSE to declare the petitioner’s result by applying the March 27 assessment scheme and by obtaining his quarterly, half-yearly and pre-board examination records from his school. In the alternative, it seeks a direction to conduct special examinations in Mathematics, English and Computer Science so that he may complete his Class XII assessment and pursue higher education opportunities.
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