The Supreme Court has allowed JEE Mains aspirants to approach the National Testing Agency with an appeal to reconsider its decision to reduce the number of sessions for the JEE Mains exam from four to two. The decision, which has been challenged by petitioners in the Supreme Court, was notified to the students on March 1 (amended on March 14), with the exams right around the corner in April and May.
The petitioners claimed that the change was made at short notice and would impact the aspirants, 50 per cent of whom are also writing the Board exams this year. However, the Supreme Court Bench, comprising Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Bela Trivedi, said that it cannot interfere in what is essentially a policy matter. "They have not changed the eligibility, course content or syllabus. Where do you have vested right?" asked Justice Chandrachud.
In December 2020, the NTA had announced that the JEE Mains will be conducted in four sessions and the highest score from the four attempts will be counted as the examinee's final score for consideration. The petitioners claimed that NTA had been asked since December 2021 about their stance on the number of sessions, but no response had been given until the notice in March.
The court has given the petitioners the permission to make a representation to the NTA in the matter and request for four sessions of the JEE Mains exam. The petition has been disposed of by the apex court.
