In a significant ruling on examination discipline, the Karnataka High Court has upheld the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) decision to cancel a Class 12 student’s board examinations after he was found carrying a mobile phone inside the exam hall.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice CM Poonacha allowed CBSE’s appeal and set aside an earlier order by a single judge that had granted relief to the student.

The court observed that mobile phones are communication devices capable of enabling information exchange during examinations, thereby posing a serious threat to the integrity of the exam process.

It said that the presence of such devices inside exam halls raises the possibility of question paper leaks and unfair practices.

CBSE’s rules classify different forms of unfair means (UFM) depending on their seriousness. Minor violations such as possessing handwritten notes fall under Category-1, while more serious offences involving electronic devices or intimidation of staff fall under Category-3.

According to the board’s updated guidelines, even possession of a mobile phone during an examination is considered a Category-3 offence, which carries stringent punishment.

The High Court noted that these rules were formulated after deliberations by an expert body, and courts should not interfere with such decisions unless there is clear illegality.

The judges emphasised that the guidelines were revised after careful consideration by CBSE’s governing body, and it would not be appropriate for the court to dilute the classification decided by the board’s experts.

The case stems from an incident during the CBSE Class 12 board examinations for the 2024–25 academic year. On February 17, 2025, during the Physical Education paper, an invigilator discovered a mobile phone in the pocket of an 18-year-old student at Shri Ram Global School in Bengaluru.

The device was confiscated immediately and the incident was reported to the examination observer. Despite the discovery, the student was given a fresh question paper and answer booklet and allowed to complete the exam. He was also permitted to appear for the remaining papers in the board examinations.

After the examination cycle concluded, the student was summoned before CBSE’s Unfair Means Committee in April 2025.

During the inquiry, he explained that he had arrived late for the exam and had rushed into the hall without realizing that the phone remained in his pocket. He maintained that the device had not been used during the examination.

An inspection of the phone reportedly found no material connected to the examination, and there was no evidence that the student had copied answers from the device.

However, citing the board’s revised rules, the committee classified the incident under Category-3 and recommended strict action. CBSE subsequently informed the school that the student’s examination for that year would be cancelled.

The student later challenged the decision before the High Court, arguing that the punishment was excessive since the phone had not been used. A single judge had earlier accepted his plea and directed CBSE to release his results.

CBSE then appealed against that order, arguing that the rules had been revised in 2024 to treat possession of electronic devices as a serious offence.

Accepting the board’s arguments, the division bench restored the penalty and ruled that CBSE had acted strictly in accordance with its regulations.