High Court rejects UGC notification on NET

High Court rejects UGC notification on NET

GIVING big relief 10 Neha Bobde. Lecturer at PGTD Law. and other co-petitioners through 17 writ petitions. Justice R C Chavan and Justice P B Varaie at the High Coun here have struck down the UGC notification of September 19. 2012 holding it arbitrary and illegal, as through it. change in qualifying criteria for clearing the NET examination in 2012 was sought to be effected, after the examination was held and before declaration of the result.

Through the judgment reserved earlier and pronounced this morning, the Court held that it agrees with Single Judge of the Kerala High Court, that the notification laying down requirement of minimum 65. 60 and 55 per cent aggregate marks for various categories at June. 2012 NET examination of UGC is illegal and hence is struck down. The Court has directed the UGC to proceed to declare the result of the petitioners on the basis of marks secured by them in their individual papers with reference to minimum marks prescribed for passing the three papers. The petit ions have been al lowed with these terms.

After the judgment  was  pronounced. the Assistant SGI. S K Mishra prayed on behalf of UGC for staying the operation of judgment, to enable UGC to move Supreme Court, the Court did not grant this request, but at the same time, granted 8 weeks time to UGC for declaring the results.

The Court has pointed out that authority to moderate the results cannot be used to prescribe higher qualifying criteria. There has been no question of UGC undertaking any short-listing and, therefore, so long as the candidates secured minimum qualifying marks in each of the three papers, it could have declared them to have been qualified. As in the result, stipulation of qualifying marks has been relaxed in the case of 7 per cent top-notchers of requirement of having 65.60 and 55 per cent aggregate marks in their individual subjects, there is nothing sacrosanct about percentage of the aggregate marks fixed.