The Supreme Court on Monday junked the petition seeking deferment of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and gave a green signal for the conduct of examinations scheduled to be held in September 2020.
Hearing the plea seeking to postpone the examinations in view of the coronavirus crisis, a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said that deferring the exams will put the career of students in peril.
"Should everything be stopped in the country? Why should a precious year be wasted like this?" the court asked.
Appearing for the National Testing Agency, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that exams should be conducted, adding that adequate precautions will be taken.
The bench also said that it has taken into account Mehta's submission that the exams will be conducted with precautions.
The petition was submitted by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava on behalf of 11 students belonging to 11 states on August 6. The plea sought directions to the central government to hold JEE and NEET examinations till the COVID-19 crisis is over and the situation in the country becomes normal.
The NTA has scheduled the exams to be conducted in September. A notice was issued by the body on July 3, announcing that the NEET UG examinations will be conducted on September 13 and the JEE Main will commence on September 1 and conclude on 6, 2020
