NEET 2020: Supreme Court rejects fresh petitions seeking postponement of medical entrance exam

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a fresh batch of petitions seeking postponement of NEET (UG) exam 2020 scheduled for September 13.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said that authorities will take all necessary steps for conducting the NEET-undergraduate exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The plea to postpone National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) exam was filed citing the COVID-19 crisis and flood problem in Bihar. Students' advocate requested the Court to postpone the exam for 3 weeks as there are only two centers in Bihar which could be a problem for students.

The Supreme Court, in reply, said that the exam is about to begin in a few days. Different states cannot have different dates as it could cause a problem.

The SC had already dismissed a review petition in this regard.

The lawyer said that as the COVID-19 crisis is worsening day by day, it poses a serious threat to the students, especially those who live in the containment zones. They may not be able to take the exam.

The Supreme Court said that the concerned department has to take a decision on the students, the court will not issue any instructions. 'Sorry, we are not inclined to entertain,' the bench said.

This comes after the Supreme Court had dismissed the review petition filed by cabinet ministers of 6 opposition-ruled challenging the August 17 order seeking postponement of JEE, NEET examinations 2020.

The petition was jointly filed by 6 cabinet ministers from non-BJP ruled states Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra on August 28.

Earlier, On August 17, the Supreme Court had junked the petition seeking deferment of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and gave a green signal for the conduct of examinations scheduled to be held in September 2020.

The top court had refused to interfere with the conduct of the medical and engineering entrance exams, saying that life must go on and students can’t lose a precious year due to the pandemic.

The apex court had on August 17, dismissed a plea by one Sayantan Biswas and 10 other students seeking direction to NTA to postpone them after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta assured that all safeguards would be taken.