The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, refused to hear a fresh set of petitions seeking the postponement of NEET 2020. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is scheduled to be held on September 13, and three fresh petitions had been filed seeking its postponement to a later date, because of the serious pandemic situation.
Earlier on August 17, the SC had rejected a bunch of petitions by JEE and NEET aspirants seeking the postponement of both the exams. The SC bench stated that the court cannot put students' career in peril by interfering with the test dates. A review petition was then filed by ministers of six non-BJP ruled states, seeking a review of this judgement. The SC rejected this review petition on September 5, even as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) (Main) exams were underway.
The three-member SC bench, headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan, heard the fresh set of petitions, where the petitioners reportedly stressed that they sought only postponement and not cancellation of the NEET exam.
According to LiveLaw, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar who appeared on behalf of the petitioners noted that in Bihar, only two centres have been arranged for the exam. With NEET being the only exam for admission into undergraduate medical courses, and with trains remaining cancelled till September 30, Datar appealed for the exam to be postponed by three weeks.
Bar & Bench reported that when Senior Advocate KTS Tulsi pointed out the need to provide alternatives for candidates who are unable to appear for the exam, Justice Ashok Bhushan said that the issue is for the body (National Testing Agency) to decide, and not for the SC to pass directions on.
JEE (Main) exams have already been completed, held between September 1 and 6. Common Entrance Tests are also set to begin in Andhra Pradesh from Thursday to October, in spite of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state.