Student’s 6-minute delay plea rejected by Delhi HC

New Delhi

The Delhi High Court denied relief to an 18-year-old student who missed the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) by six minutes, emphasizing the importance of maintaining exam discipline. The student arrived at the exam center at 8:36 am on May 13, just after the 8:30 am gate closing time, and was refused entry.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta heard the student's plea against an earlier decision that refused intervention. The court pointed out that the National Testing Authority’s guidelines and the admit card clearly instructed candidates to arrive around 7 am, two hours before the exam, as gates close strictly at 8:30 am.

The judges said allowing leniency in such a large exam could cause chaos and unfairness among candidates. They noted that punctuality and following rules are essential parts of the examination’s discipline and fairness. The court stressed that relaxing these rules could lead to inequality for other students who arrived on time.

Although the judges sympathized with the student’s situation, they ruled that the authorities acted correctly in enforcing the gate closing time strictly. The court added that making exceptions in an exam taken by over 13.5 lakh students nationwide would disrupt the exam schedule, result announcements, and admissions.

The bench concluded that courts should avoid interfering in such matters to preserve the exam’s order and fairness for all candidates.