CHENNAI: Madras High Court on Wednesday observed that the Government Order (G.O) cancelling arrear exams in view of the pandemic is not acceptable to the court. The first Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy directed the State government and the UGC to jointly work together to arrive at a solution that can be taken by way of an examination or some other method. The court passed the directions on the pleas moved by advocate Ramkumar Aditiyan and former vice-chancellor of Anna University E Balaguruswamy, challenging the G.O.
During the hearing, advocate general Vijay Narayan submitted that exemption has been granted only to arts and science courses since the regulatory bodies of other professional courses like medicine, engineering, and law refused to sanction.
“There is no doubt that lakhs of students who had thought that they had cleared the particular course after writing their final semester exams may have to be held back because they did not clear previous papers - at the same time, unqualified persons cannot be certified to have qualified to pursue professional courses or even higher studies,” the Bench said.
The CJ observed that the State government appears to have cancelled arrear exams in violation of UGC guidelines and that it is absolutely unacceptable. The court then adjourned the pleas to April 15, directing the UGC and the State government to work together and find a solution that would serve the interest of students without compromising on sanctity of the system, notwithstanding the pandemic.