Supremacy of the Court is a feature of a federal constitution.

The petitioner challenged the answer key for Question No. 144 in the UGC-NET Examination, 2026.

He had already availed the prescribed answer-key challenge process, after which the Expert considered his objection.

Whether “Supremacy of the Court” could also be treated as a correct answer to Question No. 144, making the question ambiguous

Whether the Court could undertake further review of the answer key after the petitioner had availed the prescribed challenge process and an Expert had considered his objection

The Court relied on the principle that courts should not act as appellate authorities over expert assessments of examination questions and answer keys, and that judicial interference with such assessments is limited. In this context, it referred to Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission v. Mukesh Thakur, (2010) 6 SCC 759, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education v. Paritosh Bhupeshkumar Sheth, (1984) 4 SCC 27, and Ran Vijay Singh v. State of U.P., (2018) 2 SCC 357.

On federalism, the Court considered the proposition that the authority of courts to interpret the Constitution and maintain the distribution of powers is an essential feature of a federal system, referring to the cited extract from D.D. Basu and to Kuldip Nayar v. Union of India, (2006) 7 SCC 1.

The Court considered the petitioner’s distinction between constitutional supremacy and judicial supremacy, but concluded that the authority of courts to interpret the Constitution and maintain the balance between branches of government and between States is integral to the federal system.

Separately, because the petitioner had already used the prescribed answer-key challenge process and an Expert had considered the objection, the Court declined to undertake further examination of the answer key, consistent with the limited scope of judicial review over expert assessments.

Finding no basis for further judicial review after the Expert’s assessment, it dismissed the claim for relief and consigned the writ petition to the records.