Supreme Court Refuses NEET 2020 Exam Postponement Petitions, Says It Will Not Entertain Any Such Plea

By Anusha Lal

The Supreme Court has refused any petitions seeking NEET 2020 postponement. The exam will be conducted on September 13, 2020, as declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The apex court said, “We are not inclined” dismissing any petitions regarding postponement of the NEET Exam 2020. The statement was released by the Bench of three judges who were taking up the petitions. They have informed that they are not going to accept any plea regarding deferment of the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Senior lawyers of the Supreme Court presented a fresh request letter in the court yesterday for the postponement of NEET 2020. In this plea, they did not just request rescheduling of the exam but asked for more examination centres to be facilitated to the candidates. While supporting the petition, Senior Advocate KTS Tulsi said, "COVID19 cases are increasing and now there are 90,000 daily cases." Justice Ashok Kumar Bhushan responded, "Whether the students should be considered or not is for the body to decide not for this Court to pass directions on".

Adv Tulsi also proposed that those who fail to appear for the exam should be appropriately considered, to which SC replied that there cannot be such provision as different dates for different states.

The Details Regarding the Fresh Petition

Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava sought the help of a senior advocate to address students’ requests. The fresh plea in the Apex Court insisted on conducting the NEET exam over a period of 5-6 days, much like JEE. After the successful completion of JEE Main examinations, many students and experts have started raising concerns about NEET 2020 to be held on a single date. Unlike JEE Main, NEET is going to be held on one day for over 15 lakh students. This means more than 600 students at each centre, which makes it difficult to maintain social distancing, commented students. The fresh plea has been made to acknowledge students’ concerns and ask for better provisions to mitigate risks. However, the court has even refused this one last PIL.

Know What SC Said Regarding NEET 2020 Exam Postponement

It was Advocate Shoeb Alam who appealed that the admit cards for NEET 2020 should be treated as Curfew pass by the applicants. The Apex Court gave its nod on his request to provide some facilitation for candidates to reach the exam centre. Candidates who are going to take NEET 2020 exam, scheduled on 13th September (Sunday), need to know what is the SC’s take on the deferral of NEET exam 2020. Reportedly, the court has refused to entertain any more appeal on NEET deferment. This means that the exam will be held as scheduled and there would be no changes regarding the date.

Moreover, the Bench has ensured students that the examination authority will take all the necessary precautions. The local staff would be directed to make sure that all the guidelines during COVID-19 are being enforced. Safety of students appearing for NEET 2020 won’t be compromised at any cost!