Bombay High Court Assisted Maharashtra Government To Cancel The CET Exam For Class 11 Admissions

The Bombay high court has directed to the Maharashtra government's intention to hold the Common Entrance Test (CET) for Class 11 admissions be cancelled.

The court stated that it as unfairness and the term as a case of 'gross injustice' that posed a risk to students' lives in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The CET was to be conducted physically on August 21 all across state for all Class 10 students preceding admission to Class 11, which is referred to as 'junior college' in Maharashtra, according to a government announcement released in May this year.

Furthermore, the court stated that allowing the CET exam to be held in this manner at this time would be a grave injustice to all students, including those who have completed Class 10 from the state's Secondary School Certificate board. There is no rational connection between introducing such a CET examination in such an illegal manner and a legitimate nexus.

Even if no petition opposing the notification was submitted, the court said this was a good instance for it to take the step on its own.

The court stated that the Court cannot be a quiet observer in such situations since the state government's behaviour will damage the right to life of a significant number of students. The Court has a responsibility to act and defend the citizens of our country by overturning such a far-reaching resolution.

The bench also added that considerable number of minor kids who are even more vulnerable to the pandemic would be obliged to expose their lives to a large risk, which would be a serious breach of their right to life. This would have a major ripple effect. Life is more significant than a student's decision to enrol in a particular college.

Since all students are unvaccinated, the bench stated that physically completing the CET examination would entail gathering a significant number of people, including students, which may potentially spark the transmission of the lethal infection.

Meanwhile, the government's May 28 announcement, that said that a CET will be held for all Class 10 students throughout all boards, depending on which they would be allowed to choose their chosen college while applying for admission to Class 11, was annulled and set down by the court. However, the state government has been ordered by the high court to begin admitting pupils to Class 11 based on their Class 10 grades and internal assessments, and to complete the admission process in six weeks.