New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has denied relief to an 18-year-old student who missed the Common University Entrance Test by six minutes, emphasising the "sanctity and discipline" of examinations.
The candidate stated that she arrived at the exam centre on May 13 at 8:36 a.m., just six minutes after the scheduled time, but was denied entry.
A bench of the Delhi High Court heard the student's plea challenging a single judge's decision not to intervene in her case. The court noted that the National Testing Authority's information bulletin and admit card clearly instructed candidates to arrive at the exam centre by 7 a.m., two hours before the test, as entry gates would close at 8:30 a.m.
The bench said leniency in the conduct of such a large-scale examination would lead to chaos and "discipline of the examination ought to be maintained".
"The CUET is an important entrance examination, and the discipline in arriving at the examination hall in time, taking the seat in time and being at the centre before the gate closing time are all part of the discipline and ethos of the examination ecosystem which ought not to be relaxed, inasmuch as the same may lead to huge inequities between similarly placed students," the court held on May 31.
The bench dismissed her appeal and said, "One might feel that it was only a matter of six minutes, but the authorities could not be blamed for enforcing the rule of gate closing timings strictly, and discrimination was not a valid ground to interfere." Being "extremely conscious" of the negative impact on the student's career, the court said it could not lose sight of the discipline required to be maintained in such examinations.
"The CUET UG examination is an exam where more than 13.54 lacs students from across the country appear. If exceptions are made and discipline is not followed in such an exam, the timely conduct of the exam, the timely announcement of results and timely admission to colleges and universities are all likely to be jeopardised, and there would be a cascading effect. In such matters, the interference by the court should be the least (sic)," it stated.
(inputs from PTI)