A fresh plea has been filed by Advocate Ujjwal Gaur in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the University Grants Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) re-examination until the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) completes its inquiry. The re-test is scheduled to take place from August 21 to September 4, according to a report by India.com.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra, will hear the plea, as reported by PTI.
To recall, the examination was cancelled on June 19, one day after it was conducted, citing concerns about the integrity of the exam due to alleged paper leaks. This information was received by the UGC from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
Later, Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan clarified that the paper was leaked on the dark net (dark web) and was being circulated on the social media platform Telegram. The matter was handed over to the CBI for further investigation which is still pending.
The UGC on June 28 announced fresh dates for the exam which is to be conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode this time.
The petitioner asserts that the decision is not only arbitrary but also unjust, given the recent findings of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"The CBI's investigation brings the fact that the evidence suggesting the paper leak is doctored, thus nullifying the grounds on which the cancellation was based," the plea filed through advocate Rohit Pandey said as stated by PTI.
The petitioner submitted that the "unwarranted" cancellation of the exam has caused significant distress, anxiety, and an unnecessary expenditure of resources for the aspirants who have rigorously prepared for this crucial examination.
According to PTI, the plea further stated, "The arbitrary nature of this decision reflects a lack of due diligence and disregard for the welfare of the primary stakeholders - the students. Adding to the arbitrariness of the decision is the fact that the NTA has issued new dates for the NET exam scheduled for August 2024, despite ongoing the inquiry not being completed."
The plea has sought directions from the CBI to expedite the inquiry into the UGC-NET exam paper leak allegations and submit a detailed report.
The UGC-NET exam tests the eligibility of candidates seeking admission to PhD into Indian universities, avail the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and appointment as Assistant Professor into universities.
