SC DISMISSES PLEA SEEKING POSTPONEMENT OF NEET, JEE
Top court finds no merit in review plea filed by ministers from 6 non-BJP states
NEW DELHI: The ongoing Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for admission to engineering colleges will go on as per schedule and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges will be held as planned on September 13, with the Supreme Court on Friday rejecting the review petition filed by ministers from six non-BJP ruled states seeking a review of the August 17 order of the court that allowed the National Testing Agency (NTA) and central government to hold the exams amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
A three-judge bench considered the petitions in chambers and decided that they had no merit.
NEW DELHI: The ongoing Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for admission to engineering colleges will go on as per schedule and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges will be held as planned on September 13, with the Supreme Court on Friday rejecting the review petition filed by ministers from six non-BJP ruled states seeking a review of the August 17 order of the court allowing the National Testing Agency and central government to hold the exams amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
A three-judge bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan considered the petitions in the chambers and decided that they had no merit. “We have carefully gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We find no merit in the review petitions and the same are accordingly dismissed,” the bench which also comprised justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari held.
The review petition was filed by ministers Moloy Ghatak (West Bengal), Rameshwar Oraon (Jharkhand), Raghu Sharma (Rajasthan), Amarjeet Bhagat (Chhattisgarh), Balbir Singh Sidhu (Punjab) and Uday Ravindra Samant (Maharashtra) in their individual capacity.
Two other review petitions, filed by RKR Anantharaman, a Congress MLA and government whip in the legislative assembly of the Union territory of Puducherry and by one N Vinoba
Bhoopathy from Tamil Nadu were also dismissed.
“Since the time I filed this review petition, I have been overwhelmed with inquires from aspirants/students on social media who were desperately praying that we succeed in this review and the exams get postponed. I can only imagine the disappointment and anxiety of lakhs of such students. There were so many issues that were yet to be argued that I felt the review petition deserved at least an open court hearing. Anyways, the Supreme Court’s verdict is final and must be respected and accepted by all. I urge the students to focus all their energies on their exams and keep themselves safe at all times,” advocate Sunil Fernandes, who represented the 6 ministers before the Supreme Court said.
A 3-judge bench headed by justice Arun Mishra , on August 17, rejected a plea by 11 NEET/ JEE candidates seeking postponement of the exams until the Covid-19 pandemic passed.
The review petition against the August 17 order was filed on August 28 but was listed only on Friday.
By the time the petition was listed JEE, scheduled from September 1 to 6 had commenced, thereby, rendering the prayer for postponement infructuous.
NEET is scheduled to be held on September 13.
The ministers challenged the August 17 order highlighting the safety and security concerns of students and the logistical difficulties in conducting the examinations.
“If the order of August 17, 2020 is not reviewed, then grave and irreparable harm and injury will befall the student community of our country and not only will health, welfare and safety of students appearing for NEET/ JEE stand imperiled but also public health at large would be in severe jeopardy in these Covid -19 pandemic times,” the petition stated.
A review petition is a legal remedy available after the Supreme Court has pronounced its judgment in a case. The grounds for filing a review petition are limited and the petitioners seeking review should show that new facts have come to light or that the court committed an obvious or apparent error while delivering its judgment.
The review petition as per law should also be heard by the same bench which heard the main case unless any of the judges has retired from office. Justice Arun Mishra, who heard the main petition on August 17, retired on September 2 and justice Ashok Bhushan replaced him on the review bench.
Justice Mishra while hearing the main case, said that “life has to go on” despite the outbreak of the viral disease and that any order from the court postponing the exams could put the careers of students in jeopardy.
“Life has to move on even in Covid times. Covid may continue but postponement of exams is a loss for the country. Are you (petitioners) ready to waste a whole year,” he remarked.
The review petitioners rebutted this contending that the “advice of ‘Life Must Go On’ may have very sound philosophical underpinnings but cannot be a substitute for valid legal reasoning and logical analysis of the various issues” involved in holding the exams.
“Only two reasons that can be discerned from the (August 17) order for dismissal of the petition — life must go on and students should not lose an academic year. With utmost respect, both the reasons, even if cumulatively taken, do not constitute an authoritative and comprehensive judicial scrutiny of the issue,” the review petition said.
On Friday, the court ruled that they indeed did.