Telangana High Court on 09.07.2020 declined to pass an order to the state government to promote students of all degree and post-graduate courses to final year based on their marks in internal assessment exams.
Submission of the Petitioner
The counsel for the petitioner, C. Damodar Reddy appealed to the bench to promote all students of UG and PG courses to the final year. He submitted to promote them based on their internal assessment marks. Moreover, he stated that the governments of Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Pondicherry have taken such decisions.
Submission of the Respondent
The Advocate General raised contentions on behalf of the state. The Telangana government had decided to hold the examination of UG and PG courses. For conducting the exams, the state would follow the norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC). In this regard, the UGC issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). The dates of these examinations would be fixed in the future as per the SOP. But till such time, the examinations stand postponed.
Observation of the Court
The Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhanheard and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy heard the two PILs. The previous hearing was on June 30. The Advocate General informed the HC that all common entrance tests were postponed. But the bench did not pass any specific direction on that day. Moreover, there was no decision of conducting exams of the UG and PG courses on the said day.
In this hearing, the Court observed that conducting examinations is a policy decision. The Courts cannot compel the state government to take a policy decision. The UGC through its SOP suggested postponing of the exams. However, this would only be done if the COVID-19 pandemic further aggravates. Further, a possibility exists that the state government would probably come up with a decision not to hold the exams in the coming days. Also, the Court does not know whether the conditions would improve or deteriorate. The coronavirus spread its tentacles fast in the state. The Court also relied on the cancellation of the exams by the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) was unable to hold the exams.
The Decision of the Court
The Court directed the state government to file a counter affidavit in three weeks. The affidavit should contain the details over UG, PG Examinations.
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