NEET-UG 2021: Supreme Court to hear plea for rescheduling the exam

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India will on Monday hear a petition seeking rescheduling the NEET-UG 2021 exam to a later date.

It is to be noted that the National Testing Agency (NTA) would be conducting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET 2021 on September 12, 2021.

The plea would be heard by a three-judge bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar and also comprising Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice CT Ravikumar.

NTA on September 3 had clarified to the bench that the students would be allowed to appear for the examination, irrespective of the fact that CBSE Results would not be declared by then. 

Noting the same, the bench had pointed out that the relief claimed was unnecessary. The case was listed for hearing today.

Filed through Advocate Sumanth Nookala, the plea calls for quashing the July 13 public notice scheduling National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-Undergraduate exams on September 12.

It termed the public notice as “manifestly arbitrary” and “in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India”. 

Furthermore, the petitioner has urged the court that a direction may be issued for shifting the medical entrance exam to a suitable date soon after the ongoing board/other competitive exams. 

A three-judge bench comprising Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice Hrishikesh Roy, and Justice CT Ravikumar will hear the matter today.

NTA officials have, meanwhile, advised students to focus on their preparation since there is no clarity yet on the reschedulling of the exam.

NTA and the Ministry of Education have further clarified that delay in the examination is not possible as it would set back the admission process by another two months. Furthermore, the logistical concerns cannot be ignored.