Policy decisions regarding exam eligibility cannot be arbitrarily altered and must adhere to established criteria, even in unprecedented circumstances like a pandemic.

JUDGMENT

Prateek Jalan, J. (Oral)

The proceedings in the matter have been conducted through video conferencing.

1. The petitioners were candidates for admission to engineering colleges through the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains) [hereinafter, "JEE Mains"], conducted by respondent no. 1/National Testing Agency [hereinafter, "NTA"] in January and September 2020. They claim that they were unable to take the examination in the September 2020 session, or were not able to deliver satisfactory performances therein, due to circumstances arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.

2. The JEE Mains of the year 2021 are now in progress. The petitioners however are unable to appear in the 2021 edition of the examination due to the eligibility conditions, which render the 2020 examination their last attempt. They seek an additional opportunity to appear in the examination this year, as they claim their inability to secure a satisfactory result in 2020 was due to factors beyond their control.

3. In the year 2020, the two sessions of the JEE Mains were originally scheduled to be held in January and April 2020. A candidate is permitted to take the examination in one or both sessions. Out of the eight petitioners, six of them appeared in both the sessions. Petitioner no. 1 appeared in one attempt and petitioner no. 4 was unable to appear in either of the two attempts.

4. For the 2021 examination, the NTA proposed to hold the examination in four sessions - in February, March, April and May, 2021. Factually, the examinations scheduled for the February and March, 2021 sessions were held and the examination for April and May, 2021 sessions have been postponed due to the pandemic. The eligibility conditions for the JEE Mains 2021 are set out in the Information Bulletin published by the NTA. The conditions which come in the way of the petitioners from appearing in the 2021 examination are as follows:

"3.1 Age Limit

5. All the petitioners in the present case, had passed their Class-XII/equivalent examination prior to 2018 and are, therefore, ineligible for the JEE Mains 2021.

6. The writ petition cites various reasons in support of their claim for an additional attempt, including Covid-19 infections to the candidates and/or their families, severe floods in some parts of the country, lack of transport due to lockdowns, financial stress due to loss of livelihood, and mental stress and