SC To Hear Today Plea Seeking Postponement Of NEET/JEE Exams

The Supreme Court will hear today a writ petition seeking the postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), scheduled to be held in September 2020.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra will hear the matter.

The petition filed by eleven students from eleven States contends that the decision to hold JEE(Main) through online mode from September 1 to 6 and NEET UG-2020 through offline mode on September 13 at 161 centres across India are "utterly arbitrary, whimsical and violative of the fundamental right to life of lakhs of affected students".

The petition points out that the Institution of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has cancelled the CA exams citing COVID-19 risk. The remaining exams of CBSE/ICSE/ISC have also been cancelled. The Common Law Admission Entrance Test (CLAT) and the National Institute of Open School exams have also been postponed.

Therefore, the petitioners seek parity with the said examinations.

"Lakhs of young students are likely to appear in the aforesaid JEE (Main) April-2020 and NEET UG-2020 Exams in the months of September, 2020. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are increasing in India at an alarming rate. The deadly pandemic COVID-19 has already affected about 20 Lakh people in India and situation is worsening by every passing day. Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time, is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students (including Petitioners herein) at utmost risk and danger of disease and death", the plea reads.