A Supreme Court bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari heard the review petition by six opposition-ruled states.

New Delhi, September 4:

The Supreme Court (SC) on September 4 dismissed a review petition by six opposition-ruled states seeking postponement of the JEE and NEET examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, BR Gavai and Krishna Murari heard the review petition during an in-chamber consideration, which began at 1.30 pm. In-chamber hearings are not open to the public and the media.

The SC had on the August 17 dismissed pleas to postpone the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled in September.

Six states – Bengal, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Maharashtra – had sought a review of the order.

JEE-Mains have already begun across the country from September 1, while NEET will be held on September 13.

PTI reported that on the third day of the JEE-Mains, 82.14 percent of the registered candidates appeared for the examination, as against 54.67 percent on the first day.

858,000 candidates have registered for the JEE Main in 2020, and 1.59 million candidates have registered for NEET (UG).