[BREAKING] Delhi High Court dismisses plea to postpone NEET UG 2022; says plea "completely misconceived"

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) undergraduate examination for the year 2022..Single-judge Justice Sanjeev Narula turned down the argument of the petitioners that there is a clash in the exam dates of NEET and other national level examinations."There is absolutely no merit in the petition. Dismissed," the Court ordered.The single-judge also said he was inclined to pass order against the petitioners."But only because they are students I am not going to. If such petitions are filed then the court will not shy away from imposing costs," Court made it clear..NEET is scheduled to be held on July 17.The plea filed by a group of students said that the examination schedule coincides with other national level exams and there is a gap of only one or two days between NEET UG, Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and Common University Entrance Test (CUET)."Respondents scheduled National Level examinations CUET, NEET- UG and JEE in the month of July 2022 having a time gap of 1 or 2 days, wherein the syllabus of all three examinations is completely different," the plea had said.The Court, however, noted that CUET has been postponed for Science stream students as per the petitioner's submission."You said CUET and NEET are in quick succession but you say it has been postponed," the judge said."Yes they said it in July. They have now said that on July 15 and 16 CUET will not be held for science students. There is anxiety amongst students," the counsel replied."So your cause of exams being in quick succession is not there. This is completely misconceived petition," the Court remarked.The petitioners contended that the action of the respondents in scheduling three major National level examinations without appropriate gap is unreasonable, arbitrary and in contravention of Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution. The plea said that CUET will be held on July 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20 while the JEE is scheduled for July 30.The plea pointed out that many candidates having forced to prepare for three national level examinations without getting sufficient time had written many detailed written representations to all the respondents to review the schedule of examination and sought sufficient time to prepare for the examination to give their best attempt to avoid loss of one year."But surprisingly and shockingly in a democratic country wherein students are the primary stakeholders in the examinations 9 and inspite of several collective representations and raising concern via millions of tweets daily no heed has been paid till date towards the genuine concerns of students and at last students have come for rescue before this Hon’ble Court challenging the unreasonable and arbitrary schedule of examinations to protect the fundamental right of students provided under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India," the petition stated..During the hearing, the judge asked the petitioners why they had approached the Court at the eleventh hour considering the fact that the scheduled was announced in April."We were making representations and approaching authorities," the counsel for the petitioners replied."You can't be making representations and then come before this court just days before the exams... How can 15 students decide whether the exam should be postponed or not? You were aware of these things in April. These kinds of petitions should be discouraged," the Court remarked.The counsel pointed out that the schedule is such that there is an overlap between NEET and another exam. "That is better then. At least your memory will be fresh," Justice Narula responded.The counsel cited how the Supreme Court had interfered and postponed NEET during COVID-19 but the bench refused to accept that argument."The situation during Covid second wave and today is completely different," Justice Narula said."More than 18 lakh students are appearing. 17 students have committed suicide," the petitioner's counsel submitted."Please don't make vague arguments. We don't know what was the cause of those suicides," the bench remarked..The Court then sought details of specific students who would have difficulties due to the exam schedule."You can't be vague. Make out a case. Which student is appearing for CUET and NEET and where are those centres," the single-judge said.The counsel for the respondents said that any change in the schedule would wreak havoc. "More than 18 lakh students have registered and exams are in 497 cities. 14 of these are outside India. There are over 3500 centres. Even if the exams are delayed for a day, it would create a havoc," the lawyer said.Besides, it was also pointed out that since the exams for last year were delayed, the National Testing Agency was trying to compress the schedule this year so that it is back on track by 2023."If the exams are deferred this year then it will spill over next year as well," the counsel submitted.The Court the dismissed the matter and also stated that it is not imposing costs since the petitioners are students."Just because these are students, court is not going to be harsh. Otherwise, it would have been dismissed with costs," the Court remarked.