GATE 2022: Supreme Court to hear tomorrow petitions seeking postponement of exam

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow petitions seeking postponement of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2022 exam in view of COVID-19, as per Live Law. GATE 2022 is scheduled to be held on February 5, 6, 12, 13. The matter has been listed before a bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud tomorrow, it said.

Earlier in the day, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice AS Bopanna and Justice Hima Kohli on Wednesday agreed to list the matters urgently, Live Law reported.

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Two writ petitions have been reportedly filed before the apex court, one by students appearing for the exam and another a PIL.

The petitioners sought an interim relief of stay on the GATE 2022 exam till the final decision in the matter is announced by the top court.

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The petition argued that over 9 lakh students are appearing for the exam across 200 exam centers and the exam conducting authority, IIT (Indian Institute to Technology) Kharagpur has not issued any COVID-19 guidelines or set out procedures to assess the health conditions of the candidates.

In mid-January, over 23,000 candidates appearing for the GATE 2022 joined a petition demanding postponement of the exam due to the third wave of COVID-19.

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Amidst opposition, IIT Kharagpur has released a travel pass for all GATE 2022 candidates. Aspirants can use this pass for smooth movement to reach the GATE exam centre on the exam day. IIT Kharagpur released the GATE 2022 admit card on January 15 at the official website - gate.iitkgp.ac.in.