Four parents whose children are taking the CBSE board examinations, move the Supreme Court on Wednesday trying to rescind the decision of the CBSE to hold the remaining examinations for Classes 10 and 12 from 1 to 15 July.

 The petitioners were concerned about the safety of the children who would be subject to risks of contracting the coronavirus if they took the examination.

“The notification for holding of the remaining examinations and that too in the month of July, 2020 wherein as per the AIIMS data, the said COVID-19 pandemic would be at its peak, is arbitrary,” the petition said.

The petitioners requested that the CBSE results be declared on the basis of the marks obtained in previous examinations and internal assessment marks of the papers which are due to be held.

The CBSE had held examinations until 18 March, when it decided to put the remaining papers on hold due to the pandemic. On 18 May, it released a notification that the examinations for the remaining 29 subjects would be held from 1 to 15 July.

On 25 May, Resource and Development had announced that the examinations would be held across 15,000 centres. The petitioner said that ensuring cleanliness and safety standards in so many centres would be a gargantuan task.

The plea said, “ [COVID-19] cases in India are rising dramatically… if it is to be assumed that 50 percent of the cases are asymptomatic, then the said students appearing for these exams could also be potential carriers themselves posing a great risk to the other family members.”