Supreme Court declines to intervene in UGC-NET 2024 exam cancellation

The Supreme Court has declined to intervene in the Centre's decision to cancel the UGC-NET 2024 exam, citing concerns over potential paper leaks. The court stated that interfering at this stage would lead to "uncertainty" and "utter chaos."

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, noted that a fresh exam is scheduled for August 21. The bench emphasised that entertaining the plea challenging the cancellation would only add to the confusion, especially since two months have passed since the initial exam was held on June 18 and cancelled the following day.

With approximately nine lakh candidates set to appear for the rescheduled exam, the court stressed the importance of providing certainty to students at this late stage. The bench also acknowledged the government's caution in light of the recent NEET-UG controversy, supporting the decision to cancel the exam.

The court was responding to a plea filed by a group of candidates contesting the authorities' decision to cancel the June 18 exam and conduct a re-test. On June 19, the Centre cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) due to alleged question paper leaks and referred the matter to the CBI for investigation.

Previously, the apex court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to halt the re-examination until the CBI completes its inquiry into the paper leak allegations.

The UGC-NET exam is crucial for determining candidates' eligibility for research opportunities, including Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) positions.