The Supreme Court of India on Friday allowed a minor boy, who was rusticated from a school in Indore over an allegedly objectionable meme about teachers, to appear for the Class 10 board examinations.

The Court directed the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) to issue his admit card, saying that stopping him would cost him an entire academic year.

A Bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the student was already registered with the CISCE. It ordered that he be permitted to take the exams starting February 17. The school has been given the option to make him write the exam in a separate room instead of with other students.

The Court also asked the school to conduct internal assessments for Physical Education and Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW) and send the marks to the CISCE.

During the hearing, the Bench orally criticised the school, saying that instead of trying to reform the child, it chose to rusticate him. The judges observed that schools have a duty to guide and correct students, not abandon them at the first sign of wrongdoing.

Appearing for the student, Advocate Nipun Saxena argued that denying permission would seriously harm the boy’s future. He said rustication was a harsh and disproportionate punishment, and added that the student has been studying at home with the help of tutors.

The school opposed the plea, arguing that the boy’s actions could not be excused and that allowing him to take the exam would affect discipline in the institution.

The Supreme Court was hearing a challenge to an earlier order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had upheld the school’s decision to terminate the 13-year-old student during his Class 9 session. The top court had earlier observed that children often pick up such behaviour from their surroundings and that communal content should not be encouraged.

The plea claimed that the school’s decision had severely disrupted the child’s education, especially since Class 10 registration is normally completed during Class 9 under ICSE rules. It also argued that the Instagram account in question was private and not accessible to the public or the school, making the punishment excessive.