The state government made the statement before a division bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and RI Chagla earlier this week during the hearing of a standard X student from the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) board. The petition filed by Ananya Patki of the IES Orion School, Dadar, seeks to quash the May 28, 2021 state government notification on the CET. The notification says admissions to class XI – also known as junior college in Maharashtra – will be based on the CET results, which in turn will be based entirely on the syllabus of SSC board.

Patki, represented by her father advocate Yogesh Patki, told the Court that this would amount to discrimination, as she could not appear for the CET. Advocate Patki told the bench that his daughter was not in position to give the test physically and alleged that first preference might be given to those students who appeared for the CET, thereby prejudicing his daughter's interests. He added that even if his daughter were to secure 92% marks, she might have to go to a college in one of the nearby districts of Thane, Kalyan or Dombivli because she did not give CET.

Patki sought a stay the May 28 notification state government notification citing these submissions.

Additional Government Pleader (AGP) Jyoti Chavan for the state government, however, submitted that the date for holding CET examination cannot be finalised until SSC results were declared, which was scheduled for July 15, 2021.

The Court then observed that given the statement made by the AGP, it was not inclined to grant any relief at this stage. The bench directed the state government to file an affidavit within one week, responding to the issues raised by the petitioner and allowed the petitioner to file a rejoinder affidavit to the government's affidavit within a week thereafter, and adjourned the case for July 22.