Punjab HC orders NTA to delete questions from UGC-NET exam for junior research fellow over wrong answer key

Saurabh Malik
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 5

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the deletion of two questions from UGC-NET examination for the post of junior research fellowship/assistant professor. The test was conducted on December 19, 2018, and the result was declared on January 5, 2019. The final answer key was released on January 17, 2019, after the declaration of result.

One of the questions was on and hydropower and the other on culpable murder not amounting to murder.  “The instant writ petition is allowed to the extent that the questions deserve to be deleted from the question paper and marks will be accordingly calculated,” Justice Fateh Deep Singh asserted.

The matter was brought to the High Court’s notice after a petition was filed against the Union of India and other respondents by Nikhil Kaushik through counsel G.S. Phull. Justice Fateh Deep Singh asserted the respondents holding the entrance test were supposed to ensure that all the answer keys were correctly given. They could not hide under the garb that the fault was of the examinee.

The wrong answer keys were misleading the candidates and could not adjudge their intelligence. “Had they been correctly given, it would have put the examinee to a balanced view of the likely correct answers… The conduct of respondents smacks of vindictiveness, arrogance and which has resulted in illegality thereby prejudicing the case of the petitioner and similarly placed candidates,” the court said.

Justice Fateh Deep Singh added wrong answer keys caused immense prejudice necessitating intervention by the court due to transgression of constitutional rights enshrined by virtue of Articles 14 and 16 of Constitution of India.