NEET SS Supreme Court: Supreme Court Rejects Plea Against NMC’s Decision to Not Hold NEET-SS Exam in 2024
NEET SS Supreme Court: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea challenging the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) decision not to conduct the NEET-Super Speciality (NEET-SS) examination this year. The court upheld the postponement, deeming it ‘fairly equitable’ and not ‘arbitrary’. Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud directed the NMC to release the exam schedule within thirty days.
NMC justified the postponement, explaining that postgraduate medical courses, which began in 2022 instead of 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will conclude in January 2025. Conducting NEET-SS this year would deprive current postgraduate students of the opportunity to take the test. According to NMC, about 40 percent of the NEET-SS examinees each year are from the current batches of postgraduate courses.
The bench noted, “The students from the 2021 PG batches (whose courses started in January 2022 and will pass in January 2025) would be deprived of the opportunity to compete. This would create a scenario where two batches would compete for the same seats in the NEET-SS 2025 exam.” The petitioners, having already appeared for the NEET-SS exam earlier, would not be prejudiced by this decision.
“There may be an element of hardship for the petitioners, but hardship has to be balanced with the NMC’s affidavit,” the court said. “Therefore, the NMC’s decision is fairly equitable and cannot be termed as arbitrary.”
The Supreme Court had previously issued a notice to the NMC on July 19 regarding the plea filed by 13 doctors, including Rahul Balwan.
What is NEET-SS?
The NEET-SS is an entrance exam for doctors with postgraduate degrees like MD, MS, and DNB, or equivalent qualifications, seeking admission to super-speciality courses. As per reports, the NEET-SS is likely to be conducted in January 2025.
