Court Directs TRBT to Award Additional Mark and Revise Results Within Two Months
In a significant ruling, the Tripura High Court, presided over by Mr. Justice Biswajit Palit, has directed the Teachers' Recruitment Board, Tripura (TRBT) to award an additional mark to a candidate, Rupak Majumder, in the Teachers Eligibility Test (T-TET) 2024 Paper-I. The court found the board's action of altering a previously accepted answer without providing a valid basis as arbitrary and impermissible.
Rupak Majumder, the petitioner, had answered a question in the T-TET 2024 Paper-I examination with "Group factor theory," the same answer deemed correct in the 2022 T-TET examination. However, the TRBT, without issuing any correction or notification, treated the answer as incorrect in 2024, which led to Majumder scoring 89 marks, just one mark short of the cut-off.
The High Court noted that the TRBT had previously accepted "Group factor theory" as the correct answer in 2022 and had not issued any subsequent notifications to indicate a change or correction. The court emphasized that the respondents could not deviate from their earlier decision without placing any material showing the basis of the expert opinion. The court further observed that the respondents failed to provide any justification or evidence from the Expert Committee to support their stance in the current examination.
Citing an earlier judgment (WP(C) No.699 of 2025), where a similar issue was addressed, the court reiterated that the TRBT's action was arbitrary. In the absence of any valid explanation from the respondents, the court concluded that the petitioner was entitled to relief.
The High Court ordered the TRBT to revise Majumder's results, award the additional mark, and declare the updated result within two months. This judgment underscores the importance of consistency and transparency in examination processes and the need for examination boards to adhere to their established decisions unless compelling reasons for change are provided.
This decision serves as a precedent for similar cases, reinforcing the principle that examination authorities are bound by their previous determinations unless new evidence or rationale is presented.
Bottom Line :
Teachers Eligibility Test (T-TET) - Where identical question in earlier T-TET examination was answered by Board itself in final answer key as "Group factor theory" and no correction was ever issued, Board was estopped from treating same answer as incorrect in subsequent examination without placing material showing basis of expert opinion - Candidate held entitled to one additional mark and fresh declaration of result.
Statutory provision(s): Constitution of India, 1950 Article 226
Rupak Majumder v. State of Tripura, (Tripura) : Law Finder Doc id # 2989403
