The Bombay High Court on Thursday came down heavily on the Maharashtra government over the cancellation of the Std X exam, saying it was making a mockery of the education system.

A division bench of Justice S J Kathawalla and Justice S P Tavade sought a reply as to why the decision to cancel the state board exam should not be set aside. The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Dhananjay Kulkarni, challenging the government’s decision in April to cancel Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam of Std 10 due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.