The Supreme Court on Monday declined to interfere with the Centre's decision to cancel the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) 2024 due to alleged paper leaks, saying it would add to "uncertainty" and "utter chaos."
A bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that the exam is to be conducted afresh on August 21.
"The exam was held on June 18 and cancelled on June 19. The exam is now scheduled for August 21, and the plea challenges the cancellation of the exam. Now, two months have elapsed. Entertaining the plea at this stage would only add to uncertainty and utter chaos," said the bench.
The bench further stated that 9 lakh candidates will appear for the exam on August 21 and that, at this late stage, cancellation cannot be challenged.
The top court said that students appearing for the exam must have some form of "certainty now."
It added that the Central government must be "doubly cautious after the NEET-UG fiasco," and thus the cancellation was warranted. "Let this process go on now," it said.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by a group of candidates challenging the authorities' decision to cancel the UGC-NET exam held on June 18 and to conduct a re-test on August 21.
On June 19, the Centre cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) following an alleged question paper leak and referred the matter to the CBI for investigation.
Earlier, the top court had dismissed a PIL filed by a lawyer seeking an immediate stay on the re-examination of the UGC-NET exam until the CBI completes its inquiry into the paper leak allegations.
The UGC-NET exam determines the eligibility of candidates to pursue research opportunities, including Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Senior Research Fellowship (SRF).
