[NEET PG 2022] Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea seeking extension of internship deadline

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain petitions seeking extension of deadline for completion of internship to be eligible to apply for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test post graduate exam 2022 (NEET PG 2022) [Shikhar and Anr v. National Board of Examination and Ors.].A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Bela M Trivedi refused to extend the July 31 deadline, opining that it will disrupt the academic curriculum which is set to begin on August 1, 2022. The Court was hearing a plea by a group of doctors seeking accommodation since their internship was delayed due to COVID-19 duties.."Whenever there is a cut-off certain students are likely to fall on either line of dividing line. Any extension of the cut off would result in the disruption of the education schedule as indicated by the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati. The alternative prayer for including of COVID-19 duties in internship, as suggested by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, will also involve the Court to micromanage the whole situation. Though there will undoubtedly be an element of hardship, it would not be possible for this stage to disrupt the education of a large body of students. Therefore, at this stage, we will not interfere with the curriculum," the apex court ordered..It was the case of the petitioners that those medical students who fail to complete their internships on or before the deadline of July 31, 2022 should be allowed to sit for the exams as per the information bulletin.The petitions also prayed that the duties performed by the students during the COVID-19 times should also be included in their one- year internship period.The petitioners further submitted that the non-extension of the deadline will disallow medical students from the States of Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar among other states from appearing for the NEET-PG 2022 exam as it is mandatory for the student to complete their one-year of compulsory internship..Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the government must show generosity while dealing with matters like these. He pointed out that accommodation was granted in a matter relating to civil service exam."It is saddening to see this, it is about a child's future because now their one year will get wasted," he said. However, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union of India, submitted that any extension of the deadline will not be possible, as it will disrupt the education curriculum set out by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). "My lords, the officers who decide these matters are not devils who do not care about the students. We do care about the larger public for sure," said ASG."We understand but a balance must be drawn," replied Justice Chandrachud.The Court noted that having regard to the hardships, the deadline was once extended from May to July. Hence, it refused to grant any relief."Any extension of the cut off further would result in disruption of education schedule. Hence, it would not be appropriate for the court to exercise any such directions. For those students whose internship commenced later, even in that case, it would not be possible to disrupt the education curriculum of a large number of students. Therefore, no interference from the court's side. The matter is disposed of," the Court ordered..In February, the Court had rejected a similar plea and instead granted petitioners the liberty to approach the Central government for postponement of the May 31 deadline. Subsequently, it was extended to July 31. This then came to be challenged by way of the present plea..Live account of the hearing below.