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Journalism of Courage
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea to postpone the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) Post Graduate examination scheduled on March 5, 2022.
“We will do the best we can under the circumstances which is not say anything. Let things lie as they are…It is a very hard decision…,” a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Dipankar Dutta said after hearing the plea filed by 17 doctors.
The petitioners had contended that the National Board of Examinations (NBE) had modified the eligibility criteria twice without consulting state medical bodies in advance due to which candidates did not get adequate time to prepare after completion of their internships.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati appearing for the Centre said that 2,09,029 candidates have applied for the exam and most of them would have already arranged for their travel. Their admit cards are scheduled to be issued on Monday (February 27), she pointed out, adding that any postponement at this stage would bring unwanted inconvenience to them.
She also pointed out that 10 of the petitioners had completed their internship last year or even before and hence cannot take a plea of lesser time to prepare.
The ASG said that counselling for the 2023-24 session will commence from July 15, 2023, and therefore, approximately 98% of the participating doctors will finish their internship by the time the counselling for NEET PG (2023-24) will begin.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appearing for the petitioners, however, said logically it doesn’t make sense if they are going to counsel those who finish NEET PG after August 11.
But the court pointed out that the Centre had said that those who complete their internship after July 15 and are eligible to participate in the counselling process will be allowed provisionally to participate in the counselling and will be dealt with on a case-to-case basis.
Justice Bhat said “there are too many people, too many groups to contend with. You look at it from one perspective, you have not made it. There is nothing in this world to prevent somebody who has not made it to try again…They could make any number of efforts…Likewise on the other side also there are people who are waiting..They too would have prepared…”
Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha said the fact is that “for every candidate who finishes first, second, third etc., subject and college is very important. That’s their life….”. He added that the situation “had become acute because of NEET. Every state used to have its own exams (before NEET). Today this is one date for everybody in India”.
Justice Bhat responded, “right or wrong, this is all part of the evolutionary process. Sometimes evolution gets it right, sometimes it’s wrong. Now you have to take it as it comes”.
