NEET PG 2023: ‘It is a mental torture for aspirants,’ says SC; matter on postponement adjourned till 27 Feb

The submissions were made before a bench of Justice SR Bhat and Justice Dipankar Datta, which was hearing two petitions seeking postponement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-PG exam.

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

The petitioners have sought postponement of the examination stating that the counseling is to be conducted after August 11 as the cut-off date for internship has been extended till that date.

“For those who are waiting for this (exam), it is indeed a mental torture,” the bench said. The whole dynamic changes. When the bench said it wanted to know how many candidates would be affected by this, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, said the apex court may summon the NBE for clarification on this.

Later, ASG Bhati appeared in the matter and told the bench, “I have some information about the exam.” Technology partner has been roped in and all preparations have been done.

“If the exams are postponed, no alternate test date may be available in the near future as the technology partner may not be available,” it said, adding that the authorities have tried to adhere to the schedule announced earlier by the apex court. .

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

He said that the cut off date for internship has been increased to August 11.

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

He said that the gap between the exam to be held on March 5 and the



counseling would be more than five months. Sankaranarayanan said the students were doing internships for 12 hours a day and did not have enough time to prepare for the exams.

“Those who have been preparing together for months should be asked to wait,” the bench said, adding, “For those who are eligible and have been waiting, it is torture.”

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the petitioners, said the issue has arisen because different states have different programs for internship.

“We want an answer. What is the solution? “We are not passing any order in any way. We are keeping it open.

The top court observed that the petitioners have become eligible for the exam as the date of internship was extended till August 11.

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

The bench fixed February 27 for further hearing of the matter.

The petitioners, through their advocate Tanvi Dubey, have raised the issue of the eligibility criteria revised twice by the NBE and claim that it shows oversight and mismanagement on the part of not consulting the state medical bodies beforehand, leading to medical malpractices. doesn’t get any time. To prepare the candidates.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had told the Lok Sabha on February 10 that the NEET-PG exam for those seeking admission to postgraduate medical courses would be conducted as per schedule on March 5.

To ensure that no one is left out, the ministry has extended the cut-off date for all MBBS students who have not yet completed their internship, he said while replying to a question from a Congress member.

The ministry had extended the cut-off date for NEET-PG candidates to complete one year’s compulsory internship from June 30 to August 11.