NEET MDS Aspirants’ Plea Dismissed; Supreme Court Upholds Internship Extension
On Friday, March 15, the Union Government informed the Supreme Court that it had decided to extend the internship cut-off date for the NEET MDS exam from March 31, 2024, to June 30, 2024. Consequently, the Court closed an application filed by NEET MDS aspirants seeking to reschedule the NEET MDS 2024 exam, which was originally scheduled for March 18, 2024. The Court declined to order a postponement of the exam, citing the substantial number of approximately 28,000 students set to appear for it.
On February 21, the Union had apprised the Supreme Court that it was examining the concerns raised by NEET-MDS candidates regarding the extension of the internship deadline. Following this, the Court disposed of the petition filed by the students, allowing them to submit a representation before the authorities.
Last week, the students filed a miscellaneous application to reopen the petition, citing the Union’s lack of decision. During the consideration of this application, the bench, consisting of CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was apprised of the Union’s decision to extend the internship cut-off date. Furthermore, it was informed that the exam would proceed on Monday, March 19.
The Union also disclosed that the registration portal for the exam would be open for three days and that 568 students had registered following the extension of the cut-off date. Consequently, the bench closed the application, asserting that it couldn’t issue further orders for relief through a miscellaneous application and advised the petitioners to seek other legal avenues if necessary.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioners, argued for the postponement of the exam, emphasizing that many students were only halfway through their clinical courses. He referred to a 2023 order by the Telangana High Court, which advocated for a uniform cut-off date nationwide.
Mr. Gaurav Sharma, representing the NDC, highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on dental course schedules and assured the Court of efforts to restore the schedule to normalcy.
The Court’s order underscored its unwillingness to equate NEET-MDS with NEET PG and emphasized its reluctance to intervene in policy decisions taken by authorities. The basis for the current petition stemmed from the rescheduling of NEET PG 2024 by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) from March 3rd to July 7th, 2024, with a cut-off date of August 15, 2024. On the other hand, NEET MDS was slated for March 18th, 2024, with the deadline for internship completion set at March 31, 2024.
The case is titled Aditya Dubey & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., Writ Petition (Civil) No. 104 of 2024.
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