“Life Has To Go On”: Supreme Court Rejects Plea To Postpone NEET, JEE Exams

World over, educational institutions are now opening up and the Supreme Court is also contemplating to resume physical court hearings, the court said.

New Delhi| Noting that life has to go on with all precautions in place, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to postpone the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) examinations. The exams are scheduled in September.

The court was mindful of the COVID-19 pandemic but a whole year of students could not go waste, thereby jeopardising their career prospects, a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said.

“Life cannot be stopped. We have to move ahead with all safeguards and all…Career of students cannot be put under jeopardy indefinitely,” the bench said while refusing to entertain further a PIL which wanted the medical and engineering entrance exams postponed in the wake of coronavirud pandemic.

“Covid-19 is here to stay probably for another year. But students’ careers cannot be indefinitely postponed. Six months have already elapsed in Covid,” the bench further commented, adding that the national law entrance exams, CLAT, is now scheduled for September like many other exams.

World over, educational institutions are now opening up and the Supreme Court is also contemplating to resume physical court hearings, the court said.

They affirm their stand on conduct of exams as per the schedule in September, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, who on behalf of the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) – the agency for conducting exams, assured that all necessary precautions will be taken in conducting exams.

A plea by Mitul Shelat and Jaikriti S Jadeja was accepted, which demanded holding exams as per schedule. The court later disposed of the petition as having no further grievance remaining to be addressed by the Court.