Supreme Court held the second hearing on plea for class 12 board exam 2021 cancellation today. Here is a simple recap of what has happened so far, and what will come next.
Today, the honbl bench asked the government as to why they will not repeat last year’s actions, i.e. cancel board exams. The SC bench said that even though circumstances are similar to last year (regarding the COVID pandemic), then why is the govt not doing the same thing with board exams as it did last year. To which it was explained that last year situation was a bit different as only few exams were left and they were left.
However the Supreme Court said there needs to be tangible reasons, which means such reasons that can be clearly seen, to deviate from last year’s draft. The Attorney General then asked for time till Thursday (June 3, 2021) to provide explanation.
The honbl bench of Supreme Court also asked Advocate Mamta Sharma (who is fighting on behalf of students to cancel board exams) if she wanted to add anything. To which she said that the decision needs to be taken soon. This is because the more delay there is to the decision of cancellation of board exams, the more the students are suffering. It is causing a delay in next academic year, admission session. Students who will take admission in colleges in India as well as abroad are stuck because of delay in this decision.
The honbl bench of Supreme Court said to stay positive, and as per Advocate Mamta Sharma, is in favor of students.
As per a video released by Advocate Mamta Sharma, she says that the honbl Supreme Court is in favor of students. The SC has said that it expects the government itself to take a decision that will be in favor of students. However, if that does not happen, then the bench will ensure that proper hearing is conducted to come to a favorable conclusion.
Before today, the first hearing on the case of plea for cancellation of CBSE, ICSE, state board exam cancellation was on May 28, 2021. In that hearing, the honbl bench had asked whether the opposing counsel was served advance copy. Due to that having not happened, the hearing was adjourned till today. In the previous hearing, Advocate Mamta Sharma had asked the honbl bench to include the state boards on suo moto basis in the plea as the decision affects everyone.
What Next?
All eyes are set on the next hearing, scheduled for Thursday, June 3, 2021. There are high hopes from the hearing, especially from Advocate Mamta Sharma and the honbl bench of Supreme Court to order cancellation of board exams for class 12 as well as class 10 students. Until then, state governments are one by one providing their decisions on an individual basis.
