Delhi High Court Seeks Response On UGC-NET Re-Exam Plea

The Delhi High Court has sought a response from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Central government on a plea challenging the decision to re-conduct the UGC-NET June 2026 examination for the English subject.

The decision to re-conduct the examination was made after several complaints were received about multiple errors in the question papers of the English, Commerce, and Sociology subjects. The NTA had formed a committee to look into these issues, and according to the committee's report, the three papers had many factual, typographical, and translation errors.

The plea was filed by a candidate who appeared in the UGC-NET June 2026 examination, seeking a court's direction to quash the August 16 notice by the NTA directing re-conduct of the examination. The petitioner, Parul Sheoran, claimed that the decision to re-conduct the examination was taken without disclosing the material forming its basis and without following the procedure prescribed under the UGC-NET June 2026 Information Bulletin.

The high court, on August 31, also directed authorities to take a decision regarding refund of the examination fee of the concerned examination. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on October 6.

The UGC-NET June 2026 examination was conducted from June 22 to 30 across 87 subjects for award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), eligibility for assistant professor, and admission to PhD programmes. The English and Commerce papers will be re-conducted on September 9, while the Sociology paper will be held on September 10.

The petitioner sought a direction to authorities to declare or process the results of the examination already conducted in English in accordance with the applicable procedure. The petition also sought a direction to authorities to refund the examination fee already paid by the petitioners for the original examination, without prejudice to their right to appear in the re-conducted examination without payment of any additional fee.

The NTA's decision to re-conduct the examination has been challenged on the grounds that it is arbitrary, unreasonable, procedurally unfair, and violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. The high court's decision on the plea will have significant implications for the candidates who appeared in the UGC-NET June 2026 examination.

The UGC-NET examination is a crucial test for candidates seeking to pursue higher education and research in India. The examination is conducted twice a year, and the results are used to determine eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and assistant professor positions in Indian universities.

In conclusion, the Delhi High Court's decision to seek a response from the NTA and the Central government on the plea challenging the re-conduct of the UGC-NET June 2026 examination for the English subject is a significant development in the case. The court's decision will have far-reaching implications for the candidates who appeared in the examination and will determine the fate of the re-conduct of the examination.

The high court's direction to authorities to take a decision regarding refund of the examination fee of the concerned examination is also a significant development. The court's decision will provide relief to the candidates who have already paid the examination fee and will ensure that they are not unfairly penalized due to the errors in the question papers.

Overall, the Delhi High Court's decision to seek a response from the NTA and the Central government on the plea challenging the re-conduct of the UGC-NET June 2026 examination for the English subject is a positive step towards ensuring that the rights of the candidates are protected and that the examination is conducted in a fair and transparent manner.