Supreme
Court refuses to postpone GATE 2022 to avoid ‘chaos and uncertainty’
New Delhi, 3.2.2022,
Thursday
The
Supreme Court said on Thursday a last-minute change could go on to trigger
confusion among 900,000 students who are due to take the test on February 5
NEW
DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to postpone the Graduate Aptitude
Test in Engineering (GATE 2022), saying a last-minute change would spark “chaos
and uncertainty” among 900,000 students who are due to take it on February 5.
Candidates
appearing for the examination filed three petitions seeking deferment of the
exam citing the Covid-19 pandemic and curbs imposed across the country to check
the rise in infections.
A
bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Vikram Nath said it
is dangerous for courts to get involved in academic issues. “We cannot play
with the careers of students. We must allow statutory authorities to decide
these issues. The examination is to be held on February 5. Most students would
have already prepared. Any order of postponement is replete with the potential
for chaos and uncertainty.”
GATE
is conducted for admission to master’s programmes and for recruitment to some
public sector companies. The notification for GATE was issued in August and the
admit cards were issued last month.
Advocates
Pallav Mongia and Satpal Singh, who appeared for the petitioners, told the
court the Covid positivity rate was 10% and that instructions have been issued
that anybody showing mild symptoms will not be allowed to take the examination.
The petitioners sought a one-month postponement till the situation improves.
The
bench asked: “How can we be sure that after one month, the situation will
change? You will never have a situation where there will be an absolutely clear
situation across the country. In the first and the second wave of the pandemic,
the situation was completely different. Now everything is opening up.”
The
court said there was no overarching reason for it to supplant the duties and
functions of the regulatory authority, which has taken the decision to hold the
examination on a considered perspective of the situation. “We refuse to pass
any orders.”
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