New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed petitions for the review of its August 17 order to reject pleas for the postponement of NEET-JEE exams slated to be held in September against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari said: “Applications seeking permission to file the review petitions are allowed. We have carefully gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We find no merit in the review petitions and the same are accordingly dismissed.”
The review pleas were filed by six Ministers of opposition-ruled West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The petitioners contended that they had moved the court to “secure the safety, security, and right to life of the students appearing in NEET/JEE exams”. The petitioners argued that the top court had ignored logistical difficulties in conducting the examinations on the fixed dates.
“The advice of ‘life must go on’ may have very sound philosophical underpinnings but cannot be a substitute for valid legal reasoning and logical analysis of the various aspects involved in the conduct of the NEET UG and JEE exams,” the petitioners argued.
The petitioners contended that if the August 17 order was not reviewed, grave and irreparable harm and injury would befall the student community of the country and impact the health, welfare and safety of the candidates appearing for the NEET/JEE examinations. (PTI)
