Recently, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the board exams will happen if the positivity rate in Assam touches below 2 per cent in the first week of July.

A group of students of Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (AHSEC) and Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) have approached the Supreme Court seeking directions for the cancellation of Class 10 and 12 state board examinations in the state.

The intervener plea has been filed on the main petition on the board exams that was filed by Anubha Srivastava Sahai.

Sources added that at least 5,000 students have signed the petition.

Relief has been sought through an application seeking intervention and direction in the writ petition filed earlier before the Supreme Court for cancellation of state board examinations.

Recently, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the board exams will happen if the positivity rate in Assam touches below 2 per cent in the first week of July.

“If Covid positive cases will be down to 2 per cent then we will hold the Class 10 and 12 examinations in mid-July,” Mr Sarma said.

Earlier, the state government had said that they will conduct Class 10 and 12 exams within August 15.

The application says that the positivity rate in the Assam on July 1 would have no relevance in mid-July or August when the examinations are proposed to be conducted.

“Positivity rate data is very dynamic in nature which has the potential to increase or decrease exponentially within a span of less than 24 hours,” the application stated.

The applicants have argued that to ensure safety of physical as well as mental health of the students and to secure equality among the students of various boards, it is reasonable and equitable that the state board exams are cancelled.

The application has stated that, “classification sought to be made in present case between CBSE, CISCE and other state board students on one hand and the students of Assam SEBA and AHSEC board students on the other is prima facie irrational, unreasonable and is bad in law on the ground of violation of the basic feature of our Constitution, namely, the principles of equality enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution”.