SC adjourns hearing on petitions against UGC direction to universities to hold final year examinations

The Supreme Court heard on petitions in the Students vs UGC case against the UGC direction to universities to hold the Final Year Examinations by September 30 amid the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak today. 

The Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy, and MR Shah heard the matter and now its next hearing will be conducted on August 18 again by Supreme Court. The hearing has been adjourned for now. 

The Solicitor General will appear today for the UGC, to file a response to the affidavits and the question regarding the Disaster Management Act. 

Today the Supreme Court will also be walked through the entire scheme of the UGC to help conduct the examinations safely and how students ought to keep preparing for the final year examinations.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the University Grants Commission (UGC), on August 10th told the Supreme Court that the UGC is the only body that can prescribe rules for conferring a degree and that states cannot change the rules. He also contested that conducting the final year examinations, as decreed by the UGC, is mandatory and it is not in the interest of students to not have exams.

What is the Students vs UGC case all about?

The petitioners argue that it is unsafe in the current situation of the pandemic to conduct the examinations. The UGC has said that there was enough time to conduct the examinations in a manner that the universities see fit.

While states such as Maharashtra and Delhi have officially opposed the UGC decree and have cancelled the final year examinations in the respective state universities, the UGC has, in turn, contested that the final year examinations are mandatory as the degree cannot be allotted without proper assessment.