Supreme Court declines plea on UGC-NET exam cancellation amidst widespread chaos

PTC News Desk: On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected a plea by a few candidates contesting the Center's decision to postpone the UGC-NET 2024 exam in the wake of reports of a paper leak. The court declared that accepting these requests would lead to "utter chaos" and more uncertainty.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra led a bench that declined to consider the pleas, stating that the exam is scheduled for August 21 and that the nine lakh students should be provided with some clarity.

"Permit there to be closure. The world is not ideal for us. On August 21, let the tests take place. Give the students some certainty. How do we cancel right now?" said the bench. According to the bench, the exam was scheduled on June 18 then postponed until the next day.

"The UGC-NET was scheduled for June 2024, but on June 19 the administration called off the test. Consequently, a new exam is scheduled for August 21," the statement stated.

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"At this point, the petitioners are contesting the ruling, and almost two months have passed. The court noted that accepting the petition would simply cause further confusion and complete pandemonium.

The Supreme Court had previously rejected a plea on the matter, stating that it had been submitted by a lawyer rather than by upset candidates.

In response to suggestions that the UGC-NET exam's integrity may have been compromised, the Union Education Ministry and the National Testing Agency (NTA) decided to cancel the exam. A second appeal was also submitted against this decision. On June 19, the education ministry issued a decision to cancel the UGC-NET exam and sent the case over to the CBI for review.

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