West Bengal Madhyamik Exam 2022: Calcutta HC stays govt’s order banning internet

NEW DELHI: The Calcutta High Court has stayed West Bengal government’s order to temporarily ban internet services in eight districts to prevent cheating during Class 10 board exams 2022, as per Live Law.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj observed that the order has not been issued by the District Magistrate as per rule and does not mention that internet services were suspended to avoid cheating during exams, and thus lacks proper reasoning.

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The High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to inform it by Thursday 3 pm about the decision of a review committee over restrictions imposed on internet connectivity at some places in the state during the ongoing ‘Madhyamik’ (secondary) board examinations for Class 10.

Taking up a PIL challenging the imposition of such curbs by the state government, the bench directed the state to submit a report on the deliberations and decisions in the meeting by 3 pm on Thursday.

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The West Bengal home department, in an order issued on March 3, had stopped transmission of internet data-related messages from 11 am to 3.15 pm on certain dates starting March 7 in specified blocks and police station areas, when the ‘Madhyamik’ examinations commenced. The dates and timing of the restrictions coincide with those of the Madhyamik examinations in the state.

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The districts in which the internet services were ordered to be suspended are Malda, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum, and Darjeeling.

According to an official of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE), the move was necessitated in the wake of reports of the alleged leak of question papers from some examination centres in Malda and Murshidabad districts in 2019 and 2020.