SC puts on hold 25-yr age bar for NEET candidates

The Supreme Court on Friday put on hold a regulation restricting the age of candidates to 25 years for taking the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to MBBS and BDS courses. All candidates, irrespective of their age, can now fill up the forms online for the all-India medical entrance exams till April 5.

A batch of petitions was filed by medical aspirants, who submitted that the age limit was prescribed by the Medical Council of India (MCI) without there being a regulation to impose a condition like this. The petitioners also complained that the MCI had exceeded its authority by stipulating an age bar through a mere notice, instead of a formal regulation.

Though the MCI asserted its authority, the bench held a prima facie view that the age limit cannot be prescribed by the regulator without a formal exercise of issuing pertinent regulations. In this situation, the bench of Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar said it was imperative to extend the deadline to April 5 for candidates above 25 who would now want to fill the NEET application forms.

Earlier, the last date for acceptance of forms was March 1. The examinations will be held on May 7. The court directed district authorities to extend all support to the Central Board of Secondary Education so that the forms are accepted and the examinations are held on the date fixed.

The court restrained all high courts from entertaining any litigation related to the allocation of exam centres, observing that this might delay the entire process. The next hearing in the case will be in July.