JEE Main and NEET 2020: Supreme Court to hear review petition from six states to cancel exams
The six states had moved to the Supreme Court last week seeking for the cancellation of the entrance exams amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Supreme Court is all set to hear a review petition from six states seeking for the cancellation of the JEE Main and NEET UG 2020 examination today, The bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan will hear the case today, reports LiveLaw.in.
The petition, which was submitted in the Court last week, said the previous SC order did not “secure the safety, security and Right to Life of the students/candidates” appearing for exams. SC previously had given its consent for NTA to conduct the exam in September.
The states which have approached the Supreme Court include Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Jharkhand. All these states are non-BJP ruled. However, AIADMK, a BJP ally and whose government serves the states of Tamil Nadu, also has requested the Centre to postpone the exams.
The petition highlights the logistical problems of conducting an exam during a pandemic and said that the previous ruling ignored the ‘teething logistical difficulties in conducting the examinations at the proposed dates.”.
The petition also said that the previous order addresses the importance of conducting an exam to make sure that the students do not miss out on a year but fails to balance the equally important aspect of conducting the exam and securing the safety of the students, says the petition.
It should be noted that the JEE Main exam is already underway and is being conducted from September 1 to September 6. The NEET UG exam is scheduled to be conducted on September 13.
NTA has repeatedly dismissed any request to postpone the exam. The Agency said that the exams are being conducted keeping in mind the interest of the students so that they do not lose an academic year.