Supreme Court Stays Kerala Govt’s Decision To Conduct Offline Exams for Class XI Students From September 6 Due to Spike in COVID-19 Cases

New Delhi, September 3: The Supreme Court Friday stayed for a week Kerala government's decision to conduct offline exams for Class XI commencing from September 6 amid the rising cases of COVID.

"There is an alarming" situation in the state owing to COVID-19, observed the apex court adding that "cases in Kerala are about 70 per cent cases of the country. Children of this age cannot be exposed to this risk." Also Read | Supreme Court Puts Interim Stay on Kerala Govt’s Decision To Hold Class XI Exam Physically Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases.

"Prima facie we find force in submission made by petitioner that the state government has not seriously considered the prevailing situation before having a physical exam proposed to be conducted in September this year. As we couldn't get a satisfactory response from counsel for the state in this regard, we grant interim relief staying the offline exam for till next date of hearing," said a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar. Also Read | Sensex Closes Over 58,000 Mark, Reliance M-Cap Tops Rs 15 Lakh Crore.

The apex court posted the matter for next hearing on September 13. The Kerala High Court had earlier observed that conducting examination was a matter of government policy and no interference was warranted.

The apex court bench passed the order on an appeal filed by advocate Rasoolshan A challenging a decision of the High Court refusing to interfere with the decision to hold offline exams.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)