NEET-PG 2022 exams will not be deferred says Supreme Court

New Delhi, May 13: The Supreme Court has rejected a plea for the further postponement of the NEET-PG 2022 exams. The exams are scheduled to be held on May 21 2022 and a plea was filed seeking its postponement.

The plea claimed that many MBBS graduates would not be able to take up the examination due to non-completion of mandatory internship period, PTI reported.

The plea filed by six MBBS graduates, through Dubey Law Chambers, sought a direction to the National Board of Examination to defer the scheduled test until various requirements, such as completion of mandatory internship period, set forth in the PG Regulations, are met by many aspirants.

Several hundred MBBS graduates, whose internship got halted due to their duty in tackling COVID-19 pandemic, would be rendered ineligible from appearing in the NEET-PG test due to lack of mandatory internship duty that too without their fault, the plea said while seeking deferment of the test.

It referred to the statement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 3, last year to postpone NEET-PG 2021 by at least four months and the fact that the services of final year MBBS doctors will be utilised to handle mild Covid cases.

The plea challenges the condition provided in the information bulletin which provides for a deadline of May 31, 2022 for completion of internship.

"The petitioners (with 1500 candidates) have mentioned that they were in Covid duties in the year 2021 and therefore their internship was postponed. They have submitted that they are victims of circumstances and that they were not informed at any time that serving in Covid duties would tantamount to a situation where they will not be eligible to appear for the NEET-PG," the lawyer said.

The plea has sought an extension of the deadline of completion of internship from May 31. Recently, the apex court, on January 7, had paved the way for starting the stalled NEET-PG 2021 counselling process based on the existing 27 per cent OBC and 10 per cent EWS reservations in the All India Quota seats, saying there is an "urgent need" to begin the admission process.