The Supreme Court on Friday, March 15, refused to postpone the National Eligibility Entrance Test-Master of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS) 2024 exam. The ruling came after the apex court heard a miscellaneous case submitted by students requesting that the exam be postponed, which is planned for Monday, March 18.
During the hearings, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud stated that the National Dental Commission’s (NDC) efforts to reinstate the start of dental courses should not be viewed as arbitrary and warrant court involvement. Based on the parameters of judicial review, the court determined that it was inappropriate to intervene at this stage and consequently declined to do so.
“An effort has been made by the National Dental Commission (NDC) to bring back on rails the commencement of dental courses to the pre-COVID schedule. This cannot be regarded as arbitrary to seek intervention of court. On the parameters of judicial review, we think it is inappropriate to interfere at this stage. We decline to intervene in the present matter,” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud (CJI) said, according to Livelaw.
The NDC informed the court that approximately 28,000 candidates are anticipated to appear for the NEET MDS 2024 exam on March 18. It emphasised that postponing the exam would harm these students. Furthermore, the NDC stated that the union government had extended the internship deadline, which resulted in 568 students applying for the test.
The petitioners countered that postponing the exam is necessary since 8,000 students could be left out and many students are midway through their clinical courses. They asked for equal testing opportunities for the NEET MDS 2024 and NEET PG 2024.
The request for a postponement stems from concerns made by NEET MDS 2024 applicants who sought the apex court following the extension of the internship deadline to June 30, 2024. Despite guarantees, the centre took no action about the exam date, triggering more legal action.
In February, the Supreme Court declined to rule on extending the NEET MDS 2024 internship deadline, implying that the union government should resolve the matter. CJI DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra heard the petition for exam delay and stated that the union is better prepared to decide on the matter.
Several student and doctor organisations have advocated for the postponement of the NEET MDS 2024 to July, citing concerns over qualifying criteria and scheduling issues with NEET PG counselling. They also stated that the confusion surrounding the test would make it difficult for students to perform.
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