Plea Seeks ‘Pass’, But HC Says ‘Fail’

Ahmedabad, November 21, 2022

CA Aspirant’s ‘Cut-And-Paste’ Replies In An Exam Does Not Assess His Intellectual Abilities Or Acumen: HC

In an important judgment related to the open book examination of chartered accountancy course, the Gujarat High Court has held that students can’t expect to clear the exams based on answers they “cut and paste” from the open book.

The court held, “An open book exam would not test the intellectual abilities of a candidate, the understanding of the subject and his or her acumen.”

The court was hearing a petition filed by Vishesh Shah, a CA aspirant. He appeared in the final level examination held by ICAI in May 2022. Paper 6F was a paper which was to be conducted as per open book methodology.

ICAI declared that he had used “unfair means” to clear the exam which Shah challenged in the HC. In a communication to the student, ICAI said that his answers to the descriptive questions in the exam were “cut and paste” from the book.

The student contended that the action of ICAI in declaring him as “fail”, after having assessed him in the papers, was in violation of principles of natural justice. The examination was an open book examination and therefore if he had pasted the answers from the extracts of the book, it would not amount to any unfair means.

The court said, “Basic common sense would indicate that the concept of examination is a formal test conducted to evaluate a person’s knowledge of a particular subject. The examination assesses a candidate’s aptitude, skills and physical fitness and his mental acumen to assess the question and then answer accordingly.”

It further said, “Facts of this case indicate that what the petitioner had done was cut and paste the study material and expected the institute to treat them as answers which do not give ICAI to assess his ability, aptitude or acumen to become a Chartered Accountant.”

[Ahmedabad Mirror]