[UGC VS STUDENTS] SC Hearing On Petitions Seeking Cancellation Of Final Year Exams [Courtroom Exchange]

Adv. Kishor Lambat, for the Intervenor, makes his submissions. He highlights that there are parents who have lost jobs and students are facing hardships. 

Alakh Alok further highlights that there are flood-affected areas as well which impede the conduct of exams.

Bench notes that these arguments have been made before. 

Alakh Alok: Coming to the constitutional arguments, my predecessor who has passed out, they will be treated on a different footing and I will be disadvantaged. This is against Art. 14. 

Alakh Alok: Further, the nature of the exams should be told to the students at the beginning of the semester. The session began in July 2019. Of course the pandemic could not be foreseen. 

Srivastava: Section 14 of the UGC Act says that if a University fails to comply with UGC Guidelines, UGC can stop giving it grants. That’s the widest scope. 

Srivastava: Section 14 of the UGC Act says that if a University fails to comply with UGC Guidelines, UGC can stop giving it grants. That’s the widest scope. 

Srivastava: These exams will directly affect the health of lakhs of students. Section 12 requires consultation and the consultation should include public health experts. 

Adv. Alakh Alok Srivastava begins his submissions. 

Arora: Please consider that when the results of the leftover students are declared, Universities take into account the situation and take in students on that ground. 

Arora: You must seriously consider this. Not only are they going through trauma of an epidemic, but the mental trauma the students are going though is compounding the problem.