Late by 6 minutes for test, student's plea fails to convince Delhi HC
New Delhi, The Delhi High Court has refused relief to a student who missed the Common University Entrance Test by six minutes outlining the "sanctity and discipline" of examinations.
The 18-year-old candidate claimed on May 13 she reached the exam center at around 8.36 am six minutes beyond the scheduled time of the test but was denied entry.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta was hearing her plea against a single judge's order declining to intervene in the matter. The bench observed that the information bulletin of the National Testing Authority and the admit card gave very specific instructions on reaching the centre at around 7 am, two hours prior to the commencement of the examination, as gates would shut at around 8.30 am.
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 center 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 is all likely to be jeopardised and there would be a cascading effect. In such matters, the interference by the Court should be the least ," it stated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘Despite its flaws, the Collegium system preserves judicial independence,' says SC judge Justice Surya Kant
Strongly defending the collegium system of judicial appointments, Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant said on Saturday that, 'despite its imperfections, it serves as a crucial institutional safeguard … preserving the Judiciary's autonomy.' Speaking at Seattle University on the topic 'The Quiet Sentinel: Courts, Democracy, and the Dialogue Across Borders,' Justice Kant noted that the collegium 'significantly limits interference by the Executive and Legislature, thereby preserving the Judiciary's autonomy and insulating judges from extraneous pressures that could otherwise compromise their impartiality.' He acknowledged that the system 'has been subject to sustained criticism—particularly regarding the opacity of its deliberative processes and the lack of publicly articulated criteria—but recent efforts by the Supreme Court signal a growing commitment to enhancing transparency and public confidence in it.' Referring to proactive judicial interventions that advance constitutional compassion, he asked in his June 4 address, 'How far can courts go in shaping policy?' and 'Is judicial creativity a virtue or a vice?' 'The answer, I believe, lies in intent and integrity. When courts act to empower the powerless, grounded in constitutional text and moral clarity, they do not usurp democracy—they deepen it,' he said. Justice Kant conceded that the judiciary 'has not remained impervious to criticism that at times it breaches the fine line between judicial activism and judicial overreach' and added that 'in recent years, there has been a discernible shift toward greater institutional self-restraint in select domains. The Court has increasingly sought to nudge rather than command, and to engage with other branches of government in efforts to increase dialogic remedies. This evolving balance reflects an awareness that judicial authority is most enduring when it is exercised with a sense of humility—when the Court is seen not as an omnipotent arbiter but as a co-traveller in the democratic journey, grounded in constitutional values.' He described the judiciary as 'the sentinel of constitutional morality' and said it 'has been instrumental in shaping this very democracy's moral spine.' Recalling past challenges, Justice Kant observed that 'the Indian judiciary, too, traversed periods of profound trial and transformation. Particularly during the Emergency, the Court grappled with serious challenges to its independence and, at times, exhibited troubling deference to executive power. Yet, this phase of institutional strain gave way to a renewed judicial consciousness.' He added that 'the judiciary's evolving relationship with its own independence lies at the very heart of how India's vast, pluralistic democracy continues to function with remarkable cohesion. It is not merely the existence of judicial independence that is noteworthy, but rather the degree and contours of that independence—how it is asserted, negotiated, and exercised—that renders the Indian experience particularly distinctive within the global constitutional landscape.' On the role of courts in a democracy, he said, 'constitutional democracy is … a system where majorities are checked, where minorities are protected, and where principles cannot be sacrificed at the altar of popularity,' and 'in such a system, courts cannot function as mere referees.' He stressed, 'in a democracy as vast and diverse as India's, it is only when the judiciary wears its power lightly, and its conscience visibly, that it can remain not only the last word, but also a trusted voice among many in our collective democratic journey.' 'Judiciary may not be the most visible arm of the state, it may not command battalions or shape budgets, but it performs a task more difficult: it keeps alive the promise of justice. In India, this task has often been thankless, occasionally triumphant, and always essential. The judiciary is not a saviour; it is a sentinel. It does not march. It watches. And when necessary, it speaks—not to please, but to preserve.' Earlier, during a visit to the Washington State Supreme Court's Temple of Justice in Olympia on June 3, Justice Kant highlighted the SC's defence of free speech rights, noting that 'pre-censorship and vague notions of public order cannot trump the right to free expression,' and adding, 'these are not merely legal precedents; they are constitutional declarations—that democracy without dissent is a contradiction, and that silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality, but complicity.' Drawing parallels between the Indian and American judiciaries, he said, 'in both countries, the Judiciary has consistently pushed back against the temptation to suppress dissent under misguided and deceptive notions that the Executive may hold … Both our systems were designed not to trust power blindly, but to restrain it.' At a fireside chat at Microsoft Corporation headquarters on June 6, Justice Kant touched on the rise of technology such as artificial intelligence in the judicial process. He said he was 'firmly convinced that any contemplation of AI must be guided by a deep moral compass. Shaping the future demands more than innovation—it calls for an unwavering adherence to foundational values. Transparency, equity, responsibility, and respect for human dignity must not be afterthoughts, but the pillars upon which all technological advancement rests.' He warned that 'technology, if left unchecked, can reflect and reinforce societal inequities. AI is not a perfect technology and it can perhaps never replace the human element that the entire Rawlsian theory of justice hinges on,' and added, 'technology must remain subordinate to our higher commitments to fairness, equity, and human dignity' and 'must adapt to the lived realities of the people it seeks to serve.' Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More
India Today
9 hours ago
- India Today
Court orders to fix CLAT PG 2025 answer key, release revised results
The Delhi High Court has asked the consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) to revise the CLAT PG 2025 answer key and release the final results. This came after students filed petitions highlighting errors in the key and demanding fair PG 2025 was conducted on December 1, 2024, and multiple students across the country raised objections regarding the correctness of several answers. After all related pleas were transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court in February, the High Court has now issued its TO BE RE-EVALUATED FOR TWO QUESTIONSA bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed that marks be awarded as per the court's corrections for two questions. However, it rejected challenges to a third question, stating the answer was accurate. The court reviewed each objection in detail before deciding which needed correction. It then directed the consortium to update the answer key accordingly and release the revised results for CLAT PG QUESTIONS RS 1,000 OBJECTION FEEThe bench also flagged concerns about the Rs 1,000 fee charged per question for objections. While it acknowledged the consortium's concern about filtering frivolous claims, it called the fee 'excessive and disproportionate' compared to other court advised the consortium to review this issue with its advisory committee headed by Justice G Raghuram (retd) and take steps to avoid steep charges in future this decision, thousands of law aspirants can now expect their corrected results soon -- possibly giving some a fairer shot at admissions into top NLUs.(With PTI inputs)
India Today
10 hours ago
- India Today
Murshidabad communal violence: 13 named in chargesheet for murder of father, son
The West Bengal Police have named 13 people on their chargesheet in connection with the father-son double murder case during West Bengal's anti-Waqf law protests in April this year, a police official Das, 74, and his son Chandan Das, 40, were hacked to death in the communal violence that broke out in Murshidabad district. The incident took place in the Shamshergunj area, following Friday prayers. advertisementAs per police reports, the father and the son were dragged out of their house in Betbona village after miscreants managed to force open the main door. They were attacked with an axe in broad daylight as a man stood guard. A High Court-monitored fact-finding team has pointed fingers at local Trinamool Congress leader Mehboob Alam, ex-chairman of the Dhuliyan Municipality, in connection with the attack on father and accused have been charged with rioting, forcibly breaking into a house, murder committed by a group of more than five people, and illegal possession of arms and riots, which lasted from April 8 to 12, left three dead, several injured, and hundreds fleeing their homes to the neighbouring Malda district. In the wake of the disturbance that saw attacks on police, government, and private property, the Calcutta High Court ordered the deployment of paramilitary forces to rein in the situation, which had spiraled out of have submitted the charge sheet before the district court within 55 days of the crime and have named 13 people in it," an official was quoted by news agency PTI as many as 300 people were arrested in connection with the violence with over 60 FIRs filed across various police stations in the violence-hit district of from Rajesh Saha and agenciesMust Watch
