[Breaking] Maharashtra govt files affidavit in UGC case before Supreme Court, says state body has decided not to conduct exams amid COVID-19

The Maharashtra government has informed the Supreme Court that the State Disaster Management Authority on July 13 had resolved to not conduct examinations in the state amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision was taken after a majority of University Vice-Chancellors from across the state voted against conducting exams in view of the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

. A Bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan on July 31 had asked Maharashtra government to put on record the resolution adopted by the State Disaster Management Committee with regard to holding final year exams across universities in the state.

.UGC Guidelines on Final Year Exams: Supreme Court adjourns matter to August 10, asks MHA to make its stand clear. The affidavit filed through Dr Dhanraj R Mane of the Directorate of Higher Education in the state, informs the Court that “in view of the July 6 UGC guidelines, a meeting of the authority was convened on July 13 and to reconsider its decision of not permitting conduct of examinations.”

It states,

. "The authority took into consideration various aspects such as the prevailing alarming COVID-19 situation in the entire state, lockdown imposed by various municipal bodies, declared containment zones, college buildings being used as isolation centres and the view was put forth by the majority of vice-chancellors of universities that it is not possible to conduct the examinations in the state." Affidavit filed in Supreme Court . The state government has submitted that “ after considering all pros and cons of the situation and deliberating over the issue at length the authority reiterated its earlier decision of not holding examinations and confirmed the government resolution dated June 19, 2020.”

. The state government has clarified that the Supreme Court order sought to know the decision of the State Disaster Management Committee. However, such a body was set up in Maharashtra, and it was the State Disaster Management Authority that was performing such functions. The affidavit reads,

. “Disaster Management Act 2005 does not contemplate the constitution of the ‘State Disaster Management Committee.’ Section 17 contemplates the constitution of an advisory committee by the authority and section 20 contemplates the constitution of the state executive committee. Section 14 thereof contemplates the constitution of the state disaster management authority. Thus there is no decision of June 19 order of state disaster management committee as such a body does not exist in Maharashtra.”

. The Supreme Court had directed. all parties to file their affidavits by August 7, and for rejoinders to be filed a day after that.

. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta , representing the University Grants Commission (UGC), had said,

“Let nobody be under the impression that because the court is hearing, everything is stayed. Students should continue to prepare."

.31 students from across India move Supreme Court challenging UGC directive to hold Final Year Exams by September 30. In its own affidavit filed before the Court, UGC said that the guidelines to conduct the exams were issued to “protect the academic future of the students". The exams were necessary to evaluate the students on “specialized elective courses" they took in the final year, it added.

UGC also submitted that the universities have been given sufficient time to conduct the exams and they have also been given enough flexibility on online and offline models.

. A rejoinder to this reply filed by the petitioners through advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava submitted that the UGC had not considered the floods in Assam, Bihar and north-eastern states, which had killed hundreds of people and badly affected more than 100 districts of these states. It is therefore impossible to conduct online or offline examinations in these places.

. A group of students from Maharashtra challenged the order dated July 18 issued by the Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority and the Government Resolution dated June 19 issued by the Government of Maharashtra.

. The students have challenged the state government's decision on the ground that the SDMA has no authority to pass any order in relation to examinations, as the same is within the exclusive domain of the UGC.

The petitioners submitted that the impugned decision and the impugned Government Resolution are violative of the petitioners’ fundamental right to obtain a proper education and respectable degree, as a part their right to life, as guaranteed by Article 21.

[Breaking] Maharashtra govt files affidavit in UGC case before Supreme Court, says state body has decided not to conduct exams amid COVID-19

Debayan Roy

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