Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Union government’s decision to abolish the University Grants Commission – National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) 2024 exam was denied by the Supreme Court. The petition filed by 47 candidates was dismissed by a court chaired by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, citing wider ramifications of postponing or changing the UGC-NET exam procedure. The Supreme Court said that any action at this point would result in “utter chaos” for the roughly 9 lakh applicants who are anticipated to show up for the rescheduled exam on August 21.
The petitioners’ attorney claimed that unproven claims of a paper leak served as the basis for the exam’s cancellation. Additionally, he said that the government lacked sufficient justification to cancel the exam and that the investigation into the purported paper leak was founded on “doctored messages.” But the bench, which also included Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasized how crucial it is to provide the pupils clarity and closure.
“How can we now cancel (the exam)? We are not in a perfect world. Let the exams happen on August 21. Let there be certainty for students. You are 47 petitioners, but overall, how many students are there?” the CJI-led bench added.
In its order, the bench summarised the situation, stating: “The UGC NET was conducted on June 18, 2024, but the Union government cancelled the exam on June 19. As a consequence, a fresh exam is scheduled for August 21. The petitioners have challenged the decision nearly two months later. Entertaining the petition at this stage would only add uncertainty and result in utter chaos.” UGC-NET, conducted on June 18, was cancelled a day later. Last week, Supreme Court refused to postpone or reschedule the NEET-PG 2024 exam which went ahead as scheduled on August 11.
