HP High court quashes HPCPMT result

Shimla, July 26 (UNI) Accepting the inquiry committee's report on irregularities in the Himachal Pradesh Combined Pre-Medical Test (HPCPMT), the High Court today cancelled the test results declared on June three.

The court, in its order, directed the HP University to conduct the entrance test afresh by notifying the date of examination by all means latest by July 30.

It said the examination should be held in the week commencing from August 14, while the results should be declared within one week from the date of holding of the examination.

''Cancelling the examination was not an easy task, but we do not want such incidents to recur. We want to ensure that in future, papers are not leaked,'' the court observed.

The court said fair conduct of examinations for admission to public educational institutions was the sacrosanct duty of the state.

The HP University being an instrumentality of the state had an obligation to discharge the duties and to perform functions, which inspired public confidence of highest order, a division bench of Chief Justice V K Gupta and Mr Justice Surjit Singh said.

The court also directed the Vice Chancellor to submit a comprehensive scheme to the court within three months ensuring that irregularities like this did not recur in future.

The inquiry committee report was a clear pointer to probability of commission of cognizable offences, the court said and directed the registrar of the university to get the case registered in the concern police station.

It said regular investigation of the case would be entrusted to the same inquiry committee, which was set up by them during the course of hearing of the petition.

The orders were passed on a petition by the Action Committee for Aggrieved Students and Parents that alleged irregularities in the CPMT paper following which the court appointed a three-member committee to investigate the matter.

UNI XC AS HS PK ND1916