Supreme Court in a recent verdict refused to cancel UGC notifications asking universities/colleges across the country to hold final examinations by Sept 30. The courts however, added that they can try to approach UGC to seek an extension of deadline for holding exams. Refusing to quash the July 6 UGC guidelines, the court also said that if any states under Disaster management Act can postpone exams in view of pandemic after intimating/taking permission from UGC, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said in the judgment.
The SC said no state can promote final year students without final examination as ordered by UGC. The Apex court says, “If any state has taken a decision that it is not possible to hold exams, we grant them the liberty to approach the UGC to seek an extension of the deadline.”
The apex court was earlier told by one of the petitioners that nobody is against the university examinations in “normal times” and the students are challenging the UGC’s decision because of the pandemic. However, UGC had earlier said that the July 6 guidelines are based on recommendations of experts and have been made after due deliberation and it is wrong to claim that it will not be possible to conduct the final examinations in terms of the guidelines
In its revised guidelines, the UGC has mandated that all final year exams be conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while following the Standard Operating Procedure. The UGC's guidelines prompted not just students, but also teachers' associations and youth wings of political parties to the Supreme Court.
UGC maintained in the court that the direction to hold exams was not a diktat or order but states cannot take the decision to confer degrees without holding the examinations.
It had told the court that the directive is for the ‘benefit of students’ as the universities have to start admissions to postgraduate courses and state authorities cannot override the UGC's guideline.
