[BREAKING] “We are Not in a Perfect World”: CJI Upholds Decision to Cancel UGC NET 2024 Exam | Allows Re-Examination on August 21

The Supreme Court Today (August 12th) declined to intervene in the government’s decision to cancel the UGC NET 2024 exam, which was initially held on June 18. The Court noted that the exam is rescheduled for August 21, and any interference at this point could result in “utter chaos.” The case was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court declined to entertain a petition challenging the government’s decision to cancel the UGC-NET 2024 (University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test) following allegations of a question paper leak.

The petition, which was brought forth by a group of UGC NET aspirants, sought the Supreme Court’s urgent intervention to prevent the re-examination from being conducted.

The case was presented before a bench on August 12, consisting of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. During the hearing, the petitioners contended that the cancellation of the examination would impose significant hardship on the lakhs of candidates who had dedicated considerable time and effort to prepare for the test.

They appealed to the court to allow the results of the examination to be declared without the necessity of a retest.

Despite these arguments, the Supreme Court bench decided not to entertain the plea. The bench highlighted that preserving the integrity of the examination process is of utmost importance and stressed that the allegations of a paper leak required serious scrutiny.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, while addressing the petition challenging the government’s decision to cancel the UGC-NET 2024 due to alleged question paper leaks, stated,

“Let there be finality, we are not in a perfect world. Let the exams happen on August 21. Let there be certainty for students.”

The bench noted that while over 9 lakh students are expected to take part in the exam, only 47 petitioners have raised objections against its cancellation.

The UGC-NET 2024 exam, originally held on June 18 with over 9 lakh candidates participating, was canceled the following day, June 19, after the Ministry of Education received alerts from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs, indicating that the integrity of the exam had been compromised.

The matter was subsequently referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further investigation. The Union government also announced that new examination dates would be released soon. This decision came at a time when the Supreme Court was already considering challenges related to the NEET-UG 2024 exams and alleged paper leaks.

The Court had previously dismissed a similar plea challenging the UGC-NET cancellation filed by an advocate, stating that the lawyer had no locus standi in the case and that the candidates themselves should be the ones to approach the Court.

The petitioners argued that the recent findings by the CBI, suggesting that the evidence of a paper leak was fake, cast doubt on the reasonableness of the decision to cancel the exam. They emphasized that the cancellation has caused undue stress and wasted resources for numerous students who had invested significant effort in preparing for the test.

The petitioners contended that canceling the exam based on what they believe to be false evidence is “deeply unfair,” as it contravenes the principles of fairness enshrined in India’s Constitution. They also pointed out that despite the ongoing investigation, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has already scheduled new exam dates for August-September 2024.

Furthermore, they expressed concern that no clarity was provided regarding which specific shift’s paper—Shift 1 or Shift 2—was leaked, or whether the leak pertained to Paper 1 (common for all candidates) or Paper 2 (specific to each subject).

The petitioners highlighted the “arbitrary nature” of the decision to cancel the exam, arguing that it reflects a lack of due diligence and disregard for the welfare of the primary stakeholders—the students. They also criticized the NTA for setting new exam dates without the completion of the investigation.

The reliefs sought by the petitioners include:

• A direction to the UGC to disclose the evidence of the alleged paper leak.
• A direction to the CBI to share their findings thus far. If the CBI concludes that no leak occurred, the petitioners request the release of the original exam results.
• If a leak did occur, the petitioners demand to know which specific part of the exam was compromised. They argue that only the affected portions should be retaken, not the entire exam. In the event that both papers were compromised, they seek a complete re-examination.

Moreover, the petitioners requested that the Court monitor the re-examination process and establish a committee of experts to prevent future issues. They justified this request by expressing their lack of confidence in the NTA’s ability to prevent cyber-attacks and paper leaks.

They proposed,

“This committee may be composed of retired or sitting justices, distinguished cyber law experts from esteemed institutions such as the IITs, administrative heads, and other renowned educational experts, or any other authorities deemed appropriate by this Hon’ble Court, or as per any order or direction this Hon’ble Court finds fit. This request is made because the National Testing Agency (NTA) is incapable of preventing cyber fraud or cyber attacks. The examination paper could potentially be leaked over the dark web again, and the NTA may once again be unable to prevent it. Consequently, the resources and efforts of lakhs of students could be wasted again.”

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