Supreme Court refuses to postpone NEET-PG-22 examination, says would affect patient care

New Delhi, May 13

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to postpone the NEET-PG-22 Examination, saying the delay would cause unavailability of doctors and seriously affect patient care.

The court had on May 10 agreed to hear the doctors’ plea seeking postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2022 scheduled to be held on May 21. The doctors had contended that it clashed with the ongoing counselling for NEET-PG 2021.

Turning down a plea filed by doctors, a Bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud, however, said postponement of NEET-PG-22 Examination would create “chaos and uncertainty” and would affect a large section of students registered for the examination.

“There are two categories of students — one which is seeking postponement and the larger category of over 2.06 lakh candidates — who would be affected by the postponement after having prepared for the examination,” it said.

“As the country gets back on the rails following the pandemic, the time schedule laid down by the court must be adhered to,” the Bench said, adding the government was trying to bring back on track the schedule of examination which was affected by COVID-19 pandemic.