ISLAMABAD The Islamabad High Court (IHC) was told on Friday that the daughter of Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar was not the only student who was granted favours in her FSc examinations but the marks of some 200 other students were also increased in the same examination.

In a reply to the petition moved by Tehreek Falah-i-Pakistan through its president Mohammad Azam Khan Sultanpuri, former Chairman Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE) Commodore (retd) Shamshad sought a declaration from the high court that no illegality was done and that the entire exercise of re-checking/re-examination and re-assessment of marks of Farah Hameed Dogar was within the relevant rules that vests such authority on the board.

The chairman of the board and other competent authority are empowered to look into the hardship case of a student and passed orders to overcome any such situation, the reply said.

The high court has already sealed the relevant records of the board regarding the grant of additional marks to the chief justices daughter but had rejected the request to implead the National Assembly Standing Committee on Education as a necessary party by staying its proceedings.

On the heels of the controversy regarding the additional marks, Miss Farah Dogar had also issued a statement in her defence to prove her innocence by saying her educational career had no grey area and her blotless performance in school and college could be verified.

On Friday the reply was filed by Advocate Raja Abdul Rehman, the legal counsel of Comdr (retd) Shamshad before the high court in compliance with the orders of the high court already seized with the matter and would resume the hearing on January 13.

Some 1093 students had applied for rechecking including Miss Farah Dogar, who applied for re-checking of six papers last year on two different dates by showing serious concern about the marking of her papers, the reply said.

The respective head examiners of Annual Examination re-examined the answer books of Miss Farah Dogar and awarded nine more marks in English, five in Urdu, six in Physics and one additional mark in Biology due to wrong total, while the head examiners in the subjects of Chemistry and Pakistan Studies stated that the earlier assessment was just, therefore no additional marks were required.

As a result, Miss Farah got 21 more marks and her total marks become 661 out of 11,000 that worked out to be 60.09 per cent (Grade B).

In the rechecking process, the marks of 200 other students were also increased as a result of which grades of 20 students moved upward, three from Grade D to Grade C, 14 from Grade C to Grade B, one from Grade B to A and two from Grade A to A plus.

In the process no student, the reply said, was discriminated and that the marks were enhanced by the head examiners in accordance with the rules and the law.

The rechecking/reassessment is part of the process, which was carried out in a transparent manner, the reply said, adding that the entire staff of the HSSC Examination Secrecy Section, Controller Examination, head examiners and the chairman were part of the process. No underhand work has been done and all noting/drafting was available on file, it said.

It said the federal board was an autonomous body and the chairman of the board was also the chairman of the boards governing body, which among other senior educationists and officers includes parliamentarians, three National Assembly members and two Senators.

No objection could be raised, the reply said, regarding the non-existence of rules for re-assessment, re-examination or re-evaluation as it has been held by the Supreme Court in University of Punjab versus Sumaira Javed in 2004.