Guwahati: The Supreme Court bench dismissed a request to postpone the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) exams on Thursday.
The plea requesting a postponement of the GATE exam for the current academic year due to Covid-19 was dismissed by an Apex Court bench led by Justice Chandrachud.
“There is no overarching reason why this court should under article 32 supplant the role of authorities. Consistent with a circumspection which this court must exercise in academic pleas, these petitions are accordingly dismissed,” the SC bench observed in its order.
The Bench stated on Thursday that the request for a postponement was “replete with the potential for disruption and confusion in light of pupils who have enrolled for the exam.”
The Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to hear a petition requesting a postponement of the GATE exam, which is scheduled to begin on February 5, due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This month’s exam will be held on a computer.
The SC Bench had taken notice of advocate Pallav Mongia’s request for the plea to be listed.
“This is about the GATE examination. Nine lakh students are appearing in the examination which is commencing on Saturday. The admit cards have been issued. Please list the matter,” the lawyer had said. The plea had sought an interim stay on the GATE.
According to the petition, around nine lakh pupils are slated to take the test at 200 locations and the authorities have yet to publish any Covid-19 appropriate rules for the exam’s administration. In their case, the petitioners claimed that the instructions allow students who are experiencing symptoms but have not tested positive for Covid-19 to take the exam.
In view of the third-wave striking the country, the petitioners sought a postponement, as many states have previously done for some of their exams set for January and February 2022.
The GATE is an examination that tests the understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science for admission into the Masters Programme and Recruitment by some PSUs.