The Supreme Court has adjourned the hearing of the pleas challenging UGC's decision to conduct examinations, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulatory body, on Thursday, had told the court that it would stick to its previous stand and has given ample time to the students to prepare for their examinations.
The pleas were filed by Maharashtra Minister Aditya Thackeray, 31 students, a law student Yash Dubey and another student Krushna Waghmare respectively. Alakh Srivastava, who represents the 31 students had noted that the country had a record single-day spike of COVID cases at 55,000 while defending the plea. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represents Yash Dubey, at the same time, said that a lot of universities do not have the basic IT infrastructure to conduct examinations online. "The new guidelines by the UGC was to make things more difficult for students amid COVID-19," he said. He added that conducting optional examinations will also cause chaos.
"Many universities in Maharashtra and West Bengal have been converted into COVID-19 centres. The July 6 guidelines ignore the MHA guidelines too," said Singhvi, adding, "Heavens will not fall if exams are cancelled." Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who was representing the UGC said that the body will make the stand of the MHA clear by August 3. However, he added, "Nobody should be under the impression that they cannot prepare. Students should prepare for the exam."
The court has also sought a reply from the State Disaster Management Committee of Maharashtra.
