<p>On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by a select number of aspirants to defer the NEET-PG 2022, scheduled for May 21. The aspirants contended that the current schedule for the eligibility-cum-ranking examination for various MD/MS and post-graduate diploma courses clashes with the ongoing counselling sessions for NEET-PG 2021.</p>.<p>The Supreme Court rejected the plea saying postponing the examination will create chaos and uncertainty, besides having a cascading adverse effect on patient care.</p>.<p>The Bench—of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant—also noted that these were policy matters, where the court should not interfere unless it was found to be “manifestly arbitrary”.</p>.<p>Appearing in court for a batch of doctors, senior advocates Rakesh Khanna, Anand Grover and P Wilson contended that the counselling for NEET PG 2021 was still underway, and that there were candidates who were not in the proper frame of mind to prepare for this year’s NEET-PG exam. They argued that rescheduling the examination by four-eight weeks would not affect anyone.</p>.<p>Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati opposed the plea, saying over 2,06,000 candidates had already registered for the examination and the delay would affect them. The delay would also impact patient care in hospitals, she contended.</p>.<p>Agreeing to her contention, the Bench said as the country gets back on track after the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown and preventive measures, the time schedule must be adhered to.</p>.<p>“Any delay in conducting the examination will result in fewer number of resident doctors. The request cannot be entertained due to the reason that it would affect the patient care and the career of the doctors,” the Bench said.</p>.<p>The petitioners also claimed if the 2022 exams were held as per current schedule, it will create a situation where 2021 and 2022 students would study in the same year, and the colleges would not have the infrastructure to cater to both batches simultaneously.</p>.<p>The Centre, however, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had already deliberated on the issue and took a conscious decision not to postpone the examination in view of adverse impact on public interest and health care.</p>.<p>Notably, NEET-PG 2021 was postponed several times due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2021 exam, originally scheduled to be held in April 2021, was held only on September 11, 2021. The NEET-PG counselling also got delayed due to a pending plea challenging the implementation of EWS-OBC reservation (please expand) in the All-India quota seats.</p>
<p>On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by a select number of aspirants to defer the NEET-PG 2022, scheduled for May 21. The aspirants contended that the current schedule for the eligibility-cum-ranking examination for various MD/MS and post-graduate diploma courses clashes with the ongoing counselling sessions for NEET-PG 2021.</p>.<p>The Supreme Court rejected the plea saying postponing the examination will create chaos and uncertainty, besides having a cascading adverse effect on patient care.</p>.<p>The Bench—of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant—also noted that these were policy matters, where the court should not interfere unless it was found to be “manifestly arbitrary”.</p>.<p>Appearing in court for a batch of doctors, senior advocates Rakesh Khanna, Anand Grover and P Wilson contended that the counselling for NEET PG 2021 was still underway, and that there were candidates who were not in the proper frame of mind to prepare for this year’s NEET-PG exam. They argued that rescheduling the examination by four-eight weeks would not affect anyone.</p>.<p>Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati opposed the plea, saying over 2,06,000 candidates had already registered for the examination and the delay would affect them. The delay would also impact patient care in hospitals, she contended.</p>.<p>Agreeing to her contention, the Bench said as the country gets back on track after the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown and preventive measures, the time schedule must be adhered to.</p>.<p>“Any delay in conducting the examination will result in fewer number of resident doctors. The request cannot be entertained due to the reason that it would affect the patient care and the career of the doctors,” the Bench said.</p>.<p>The petitioners also claimed if the 2022 exams were held as per current schedule, it will create a situation where 2021 and 2022 students would study in the same year, and the colleges would not have the infrastructure to cater to both batches simultaneously.</p>.<p>The Centre, however, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had already deliberated on the issue and took a conscious decision not to postpone the examination in view of adverse impact on public interest and health care.</p>.<p>Notably, NEET-PG 2021 was postponed several times due to the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2021 exam, originally scheduled to be held in April 2021, was held only on September 11, 2021. The NEET-PG counselling also got delayed due to a pending plea challenging the implementation of EWS-OBC reservation (please expand) in the All-India quota seats.</p>
