NEET PG 2023 Postponement: Exam To Be Postponed? Supreme Court Verdict Likely Today

NEET PG 2023 Postponement: Petitioners in Supreme Court have sought postponement of the exam saying the counselling has to be conducted after August 11.

NEET PG 2023 Postponement: The Supreme Court will today (February 27, 2023) resume hearing petitions for the postponement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-PG 2023 entrance exam. The petitioners have sought postponement of NEET PG 2023, which is scheduled for March 5, saying the counselling has to be conducted after August 11 since the cut-off date for the internship has been extended to that date. A bench of justices SR Bhat and Dipankar Datta had earlier heard the plea on February 24 and had posted the matter for further hearing on February 27.

The petitioners, through their counsel Tanvi Dubey, have raised the issue of eligibility criteria been modified twice by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) and claimed that it reflects the oversight and mismanagement on its part of not consulting the state medical bodies in advance, thereby giving no time to the candidates to prepare.

NEET PG 2023: No alternative date may be available in near future if exam is postponed, NBE tells Supreme Court

Earlier last week, the NBE told the Supreme Court that around 2.09 lakh candidates have registered for the NEET-PG exam 2023 and that no alternative date for conducting the exam may be available in the near future if it is postponed.

The apex court, which made clear that it was not passing any order either way, asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the NBE, to come out with a solution to the issue raised by the petitioners.

"For those who are waiting for this (examination), it is really a mental torture," the bench observed, adding, "When we postpone a judicial exam, there is agony for the candidates who are preparing for it. The whole dynamics change."

NEET PG 2023 Postponement: Around 2.09 lakh candidates have registered for exam

ASG Aishwarya Bhati informed the apex court that around 2.09 lakh candidates have registered for the exam, a technology partner has been roped in for conducting the test and all preparations have been made.

"If the examination is postponed, no alternate test date may be available in the near future as the technology partner may not be available," she said, adding that the authorities are trying to follow the schedule affirmed by the apex court earlier.

Sankaranarayanan told the bench that though 13 petitioners have approached the apex court, the issue raised by them affects nearly 45,000 candidates.

He said the cut-off date for the internship has been extended to August 11.

"When you go for the counselling, you need to carry the internship certificate. The date has been extended to August 11. The counselling can happen only after August 11," Sankaranarayanan told the bench.

He said the gap between the examination, which is scheduled for March 5, and the counselling would be of over five months.

Sankaranarayanan said students are undergoing internships for 12 hours a day and there was no adequate time for them to prepare for the examination.

"Those who have been preparing for months together, they have to be told to wait," the bench observed, adding, "For those who are eligible and are waiting, it is torture for them".

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who also appeared for the petitioners, said the issue has arisen because different states have different schedules for internships.

"We want an answer. What is the solution for this," the bench told the ASG, adding, "We are not indicating that it will be postponed."

"We are not passing any order either way. We are keeping it open. You come with the figures," it said.

The top court observed that the petitioners have become eligible for the examination as the date for the internship was extended to August 11.

It said in the normal course, such candidates had to wait for months and now when they have got a chance to appear in the exam, they want it to be postponed.