On July 29th, the Supreme Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the government’s decision to cancel the UGC-NET examination due to allegations of a question paper leak. The decision was made by a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasizing the need for direct student involvement in such legal challenges.
Chief Justice Chandrachud addressed the petitioner, questioning the absence of the affected parties:
“Why are you (lawyer) coming? The students should appear in person to address these concerns.”
He also noted, “While dismissing the PIL, we make no comments on the merits of the case,” indicating that the court’s decision does not reflect on the substantive issues involved but rather on the appropriateness of the petitioner’s standing.
The plea, initiated by advocate Ujjawal Gaur, responded to actions taken by the Union Education Ministry and the National Testing Agency. These authorities had canceled the UGC-NET exam after suspecting that the integrity of the exam was compromised, leading to its investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Advocate Gaur sought a halt to the rescheduled examination until the completion of the CBI’s inquiry into the alleged paper leak, arguing that recent findings suggest the allegations of misconduct may be unfounded.
“The petitioner argues that the decision is both arbitrary and unjust, particularly in light of the recent findings by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),” stated Gaur.
Furthermore, the petition, filed through advocate Rohit Pandey, emphasized the disruption caused to candidates:
