Six ministers of non-BJP states file review petition against SC order dismissing plea to postpone NEET-JEE

Six cabinet ministers from six states have filed a review petition in the Supreme Court against the August 17 order dismissing pleas to postpone NEET-JEE exams scheduled in September, legal news website LiveLaw.in has reported.

The petition states that the SC order fails to "secure the safety, security and Right to Life of the students/candidates appearing for the NEET/JEE exams".

It is further contended that the SC ignored the "teething logistical difficulties in conducting the examinations at the proposed dates" and "failed to balance the competing but equally important aspects of conducting the examination and securing safety of the students".

The petitioners are Moloy Ghatak ( Minister-in-Charge, Department of Labour & E.S.I. (MB) Scheme and Departments of Law & Judicial, Government of West Bengal), Dr. Rameshwar Oraon( Cabinet Minister of Finance, Government of Jharkhand), Dr. Raghu Sharma (Cabinet Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Rajasthan), Amarjeet Bhagat (Minister of Food, Civil supplies, Culture, Planning, Economics & Statistics, Government of Chhattisgarh), Balbir Singh Sidhu (Cabinet Minister Health and Family Welfare & Labour, Government of Punjab), and Uday Ravindra Samant (Minister of Higher and Technical Education, Government of Maharashtra).

On August 17, a bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari had dismissed the writ petition ‘Sayantan Biswas & Ors. vs. National Testing Agency (NTA) & Ors’ observing :

"We find that there is absolutely no justification in the prayer made for postponement of the examination in question relating to NEET UG-2020 as well as JEE (Main) April, 2020. In our opinion, though there is pandemic situation, but ultimately life has to go and the career of the students cannot be put on peril for long and full academic year cannot be wasted".

Challenging this order, the review petitioners state: "The advice of "Life Must Go On" may have very sound philosophical underpinnings but cannot be a substitute for valid legal reasoning and logical analysis of the various aspects involved in the conduct of the NEET UG and JEE exams".

It is contended that the SC order is cryptic, non-speaking, does not discuss let alone enumerate the various aspects and complexities involved in a matter of this magnitude and complex nature.

"The only two reasons that can be discerned from the Impugned Order for dismissal of the Writ Petitions are (a) Life must go on. (b) Students should not lose an academic year. With utmost respect, both the reasons, even if cumulatively taken, do not constitute an authoritative and comprehensive judicial scrutiny of the lis at hand", the plea states.

The JEE (Main) exams are scheduled from September 1 to 6 and the NEET (UG) exam is scheduled on September 13.

Amid a wide campaign launched by several students in social media seeking the postponement of exams, the National Testing Agency announced its decision to go ahead with the exams as per the announced dates.