The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Monday clarified that students sitting for board examinations can apply for photocopies of answer sheets for Rs 2 per page, under the Right to Information Act.
However, CBSE has also clarified that students cannot apply for photocopies of re-evaluated answer sheets under the RTI Act. This was the part of an affidavit filed by Whistle for Public Interest (WHIP), an organisation of young lawyers who are working for promoting the transparency and accountability in the affairs of public authorities.
The contempt petition was filed last week by Noida and Delhi based lawyers Kumar Shanu and Paras Jain.
They had contended that the board was charging Rs 1,000 for Class X and Rs 1,200 for Class XII photocopied answer sheets. They have filed another contempt petition alleging that the Board wasn’t following the court’s directions on charging for answer sheets as per the RTI Act.
The CBSE, in its affidavit, has stated that apart from Rs 10 as application charges, students who want answer sheet copies will be charged Rs 2 per page in terms of the RTI Act. The act does not specify anything about re-evaluation or re-totalling of marks. However, as per CBSE rules, for re-evaluation candidates first have to pay Rs 300 per subject for marks verification and then Rs 700 per subject for photocopies of re-evaluated answer sheets.
