Supreme Court Dismisses Lawyer's Plea Over UGC-NET Cancellation

The Supreme Court refused a lawyer's PIL challenging the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam due to alleged paper leaks. The court clarified the dismissal doesn't reflect on the PIL's merits, advising only aggrieved students to file such cases. The cancellation followed the Union ministry's decision and a CBI investigation.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the government's decision to cancel the UGC-NET examination after alleged question paper leaks.

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, clarified that the dismissal of the PIL, filed by a lawyer and not by students, does not reflect on its merits. 'Why are you (lawyer) coming? Let the students come here themselves,' the CJI stated, emphasizing 'we express nothing on merits' while rejecting the PIL.

The bench suggested advocate Ujjawal Gaur, who filed the PIL, to focus on legal matters and leave such issues to aggrieved individuals. The plea contested the Union education ministry and National Testing Agency's decision to cancel the exam based on suspicions of a paper leak, which is under CBI investigation. Gaur also sought a direction to stay the proposed re-examination until the CBI completes its inquiry.

(With inputs from agencies.)