PIL In Bombay High Court Challenges 75% Marks Eligibility Criteria For JEE Mains, Seeks Deferment Of Exam To April 2023

A PIL has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking deferment of the upcoming JEE Mains examination. It also challenges the eligibility criterion of 75 percent marks in Class XII.

"The respondent no. 1 (National Testing Agency) failed to appreciate the fact that many students appearing for the upcoming exams are the students from the batches of the pandemic period. Those students were evaluated on different scales/parameters which necessarily don't reflect the actual capabilities of the candidates," the petition filed by one Anubha Srivastava contends.

The PIL challenges a notification issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on December 15, 2022, declaring dates of JEE Mains, 2023 from January 24 to 31, 2023 and providing the minimum eligibility criteria.

The petition contends that many candidates are from batches that were assessed on the basis of performance in the previous years as the board exams were cancelled due to COVID pandemic. According to the petition, the marks scored by such students are not a true reflection of their actual ability. There are students with less than 75% marks but could perform well in JEE Mains and if fair chance is denied to them, it will affect the future of lakhs for bright students, the petition contends.

The minimum eligibility criteria was not applicable for academic years 2021-22 and 2022-23. The petition states that the NTA notification came at the end of the current academic year. The eligibility criteria should not be changed suddenly as the students have been preparing with the expectation that it will be the same as that of last year, the petition contends.

According to the petition, the notification has been issued at a short notice of only 40 days as compared to the usual 3 to 4 months in the previous years. Further, the schedule clashes with the board practical examinations, pre-board examinations, internal assessments, vivas, etc. of various boards.

The Petition states that many other competitive exams are also scheduled in January 2023 and will clash with JEE Mains. NDA SSB interview has been scheduled for January 23 to 27, 2023, and students appearing for JEE Mains may miss out on the same, according to the petition.

Therefore, the petition seeks directions to the NTA to relax the minimum eligibility criteria of 75% in the 12th standard for JEE Mains general category candidates and 65% for candidates belonging to the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes.

The petition has also sought directions to the NTA to reschedule JEE Mains to April 2023 or any other convenient dates after discussing with all the stakeholders along with the state boards.

Case Title – Anubha Srivastava Sahai v. National Testing Agency and Ors.