The Madras High Court on Wednesday ordered notice, returnable by June 23, on a PIL challenging the decision of the state government to cancel the public exams for 12th standard students, in view of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.

Refusing to grant any interim stay, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy ordered one week notice on the petition from advocate Ramkumar Adityan of Tiruchendur.

The petitioner sought quashing of a June 5 press release of the School Education secretary, uploaded in the website, as illegal and consequently direct him and other connected departments to constitute an expert panel to deliberate and make recommendations on holding the exams after conducting refreshment classes for two months. He also sought minimising the total duration of each semester from 180 days to 160 days or according to need to avoid any academic loss and to take other appropriate measures in the interest of students, especially of the government schools.

The petitioner contended that announcing all pass for the Class 12 students without conducting examination is illegal and against the provisions. This will be an 'unfair decision' for the students.

The Class 12 exam is a career-defining one and it is the most important one in deciding the future of a student. Moreover in Tamil Nadu, the number of virus cases is declining, and rather than cancelling the examinations, it could be held after a while, the petitioner said.