The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea filed by a student from Saudi Arabia who has sought directions to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to declare his Class 12 improvement examination result.
A bench of Justices Manmohan and Vijay Bishnoi issued notice to the CBSE and its regional office on a petition filed by Pransu Jigarkumar Patel. The court asked the Board to obtain instructions in the matter, noting that the issue concerns the student’s academic future and admission prospects.
During the hearing, the bench observed that the delay could affect the student’s chances of securing admission to higher education institutions.
“This is about the career of a child, he will miss all his admissions… Whatever it is, burn the midnight oil,” the bench remarked.
Patel, a resident of Saudi Arabia, appeared as a private candidate in the CBSE Class 12 Improvement Examination 2026 from Al Jubail. He took examinations in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, English and Computer Science.
According to the petition, the CBSE has not declared his result despite putting in place a special assessment mechanism for students affected by the cancellation of board examinations in several Gulf countries earlier this year.
The student argued that the delay has put his higher education plans at risk and deprived him of admission opportunities. The plea states that he sent representations to the CBSE on May 17, May 21 and May 30, but did not receive a response.
The dispute stems from the disruption of CBSE examinations across seven West Asian countries during the Iran-Israel-US conflict earlier this year.
The Board had cancelled Class 10 and Class 12 examinations in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after tensions escalated in the region.
CBSE examinations had begun on February 17. As the conflict widened, the Board first postponed examinations scheduled from March 2 onwards in the affected countries. It later cancelled the remaining Class 10 examinations on March 5 and the remaining Class 12 examinations on March 15.
Around 52,000 students were registered for CBSE board examinations across the seven countries, including nearly 29,000 Class 10 students and 23,000 Class 12 students. The UAE had the largest number of candidates, followed by Kuwait and Bahrain.
To address the disruption, the CBSE introduced a special assessment scheme and allowed affected students to appear in the subsequent improvement examination cycle. The Board had said students covered under the scheme would be treated on par with those who completed all their examinations.
The Board also clarified that students who were unable to appear for certain subjects because of the conflict would be permitted to take those papers during the improvement examination session, subject to eligibility conditions.
The Supreme Court will now hear Patel’s plea seeking declaration of his result under the framework announced by the CBSE for students affected by the cancellation of examinations in the Gulf region.
(WITH PTI INPUTS)
– Ends