The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to direct the postponement of the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering Exam (GATE) beginning February 5, saying the ground of the third Covid wave cannot be entertained as it would create “chaos” and affect the “careers” of 9 lakh candidates.

The bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath underlined that the petitioners had chosen to approach the court barely 48 hours before the start of the exam, scheduled on February 5, 6, 12 and 13. The court said it could not enter the “thickets” of academic issues even if some states had cancelled or postponed other exams.

“The plea for postponement of… GATE… barely 48 hours before the scheduled date on 5 February 2022 is replete with a propensity for chaos and uncertainty in the lives of the students who have registered for their examination,” the court said.

“We can’t postpone exams. Now everything is opening up. We cannot play with the careers of students like this,” it added.