Calcutta High Court upholds grace marks in Coal India promotion exam

The Calcutta High Court has upheld the use of grace marks in a 2021 promotional examination conducted by Coal India Limited. The court dismissed challenges brought by employees of Bharat Coking Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India, regarding the selection process for moving from non-executive to executive cadres.

Justice Amrita Sinha ruled that awarding uniform marks for 19 erroneous questions did not constitute an impermissible change to the rules of the selection process. The court noted that because there was no negative marking involved, the corrective measure treated all candidates equally and caused no demonstrable prejudice. The ruling further emphasized the limited scope of judicial review regarding expert assessments in competitive examinations.