The Maharashtra government on Wednesday in a clarification to the Bombay High Court had said that it will not permit the Indian School Certificate Examination (ICSE) board to conduct pending board exams in the State.

The clarification was in response to a plea filed in the court by Mumbai resident Arvind Tiwari challenging ICSE’s decision to conduct the remaining class 10 and class 12 exams in July, LiveMint reported.

The petitioner had challenged the decision on the basis of Covid-19 cases in the state increasing by the day.

The board had previously announced its decision to conduct the pending exams that had been cancelled in March owing to the Covid-19 outbreak across the country in July. The Bombay High Court on Monday had directed the State to clarify its stand on the issue.

The State’s Disaster Management Committee, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, had decided to not permit the exams in a meeting on Tuesday, the report said.

The ICSE, last week, had told the Bombay HC that it had also provided an option to students to either take the pending exams in July or to have their final results for pending subjects be determined based on their performance in internal assessment/pre-board exams which the board will take for their respective schools.

The apex court is likely to take up the matter on Thursday. Following the board’s counsels announcement, the high court will conduct a further hearing on the petition on June 29, the report said.

The Supreme Court will hear a similar petition regarding the quashing of the remaining Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Board exams on June 25.

The hearing is for a petition filed by a group of parents. The petition urges the board to do away with the remaining Board exams as holding these exams during the ongoing pandemic would risk exposure to Covid-19.

The hearing will be on Thursday at 2 pm as per previous reports.

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