The Supreme Court stated that any intervention at this point would cause “utter chaos” for nearly nine lakh students who are expected to take the rescheduled exam on August 21. On Monday, the Court declined to intervene with the Center’s decision to cancel the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) National Eligibility Test (NET), 2024.
A bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) dismissed a joint petition from 47 candidates, pointing out the broader implications of delaying or changing the UGC NET exam procedure.
The bench, which also included justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, spoke with the petitioners’ attorney during the hearing. He claimed that the cancellation was due to unproven allegations of a paper leak. The attorney argued that the investigation into the alleged paper leak was founded on “doctored messages” and that the government had no substantial grounds for canceling the exam.
However, the bench stressed how crucial it is to preserve clarity and closure for the students. The court questioned, “How can we now cancel?” and added, “We are not in a perfect world.” On August 21, let the exams take place. Give the students some certainty.
The context of recent NEET-UG 2024 exam controversies, which were also clouded by claims of paper leaks and other malpractices, was also brought to light by the CJI. He noted that the government, likely wary of repeating the issues seen with NEET, took a cautious approach by canceling the UGC NET and rescheduling it. Justice Chandrachud said, “Let the process go on now. The government was aware of the problems with NEET, and they would have wanted a foolproof exam.”
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