[NEET PG 2022] Plea in Supreme Court to postpone exam: LIVE UPDATES

The Supreme Court will hear today a plea seeking postponement of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test post graduate exam 2022 (NEET PG 2022).

NEET PG 2022 is scheduled to be held on March 12 and the results will be declared on March 31.

The petition filed by certain NEET candidates has contended that the schedule for NEET-PG 2022-23 is clashing with the counselling schedule of NEET-PG 2021-22 and therefore it deprives the candidates from year 2021 to appear in the NEET-PG 2022-23 (subject to the allocation of seats) on the basis of the counselling.

"It is most humbly submitted that many candidates appearing in the counselling for NEET-PG 2021 are yet waiting for seat allocation and that due to the clash in the dates of counselling and the date of NEET-PG 2022 examination, they will not be in a position to appear in the examination, even if they wish to," the plea said.

Pertinently, the plea also assailed the deadline of May 31, 2022 fixed for completing internship as eligibility criteria to apply for the exam.

The plea said that many final year MBBS candidates had joined as front line workers in Covid duties and it delayed the commencement of their internship.

"When the candidates made informal enquiries from the colleges regarding the internship extension date for next year and whether the same will affect the registration for NEET-PG 2022, they were given an oral assurance by the colleges that the same will not clash with registration requirement for NEET-PG 2022-23. However, on January 15, 2022, the candidates were shocked to note that they will not be able to register for one (1) year compulsory internship on or before 31st May 2022, as required under Clause 4.1 of the Information Bulletin," the plea said.

Thus, the condition is manifestly arbitrary as it deprives thousands of candidates to apply for the examination, it was submitted.

The plea also pointed out that NEET-PG 2022 schedule is against the spirit of Clause 12 of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000.

"Accommodating two batches in one year will be against the spirit of the Clause 12 of the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2000 (Regulations), which specifies the teacher and student ratio and also provides that maximum number of 5 PG seats for the degree per unit per year," the petition stated.

The plea will be heard by a Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant.

Live Updates from the hearing below.