New Delhi: Supreme Court Denies Plea to Postpone NEET-PG 2024 Exam

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India dismissed petition on Friday seeking to delay the 2024 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduates (NEET-PG). The test is set to take place on August 11. The petition was filed by a group of candidates.

Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasized potential repercussions of postponing the exam. The bench expressed concern that delaying the NEET-PG could jeopardize future of approximately 200000 students for sake of just five individuals.

Chief Justice Chandrachud remarked, "How can we postpone such an exam? Sanjay Hegde nowadays, people just come asking to postpone the exam. It's not a perfect world. We are not academic experts." The court further stated "As a matter of principle, we will not reschedule the exam. There are 200000 students and 400,000 parents who will weep over the weekend if we postpone it. We cannot put careers of so many candidates in jeopardy. We do not know who is behind these petitions."

Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde representing petitioners, argued that rescheduling was necessary due to logistical challenges faced by candidates. Hegde pointed out that with exam scheduled in the morning and another in the afternoon and with specific exam centers only being announced on August 8 the timing was problematic. The petition also highlighted that many candidates had been assigned exam cities that were difficult to reach.

Originally slated for June 23, NEET-PG exam was postponed by Union Health Ministry following reported irregularities in other competitive exams. The exam will now be held at 500 “trusted” centers a reduction from previous 1,200. The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has opted to manage these centers directly. This aims to mitigate past issues with paper leaks. This year’s exam will be conducted in two shifts for first time a change aimed at improving process.

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