No NEET-SS 2024 This Year: SC Sides with NMC

On August 14, 2024, the Supreme Court of India delivered a significant ruling, dismissing a petition that challenged the National Medical Commission (NMC) decision to defer the NEET- Super Speciality Exam (NEET-SS) 2024 to the next year. The petition was filed by thirteen doctors under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking to overturn the NMC’s decision. However, the Court, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, upheld the NMC’s decision, emphasizing that it was “fairly equitable” and not “arbitrary.”

Key Observations by the Supreme Court:

• The bench observed that 40% of the students who take the NEET-SS are from the immediately preceding batch.
• It was noted that the petitioners, having previously appeared in NEET-SS, would not suffer prejudice if the exam was deferred to next year.
• The Court highlighted that conducting the exam this year could disadvantage the 2021 Post-Graduate batch students, who will only complete their courses in January 2025.

Court’s Conclusion on the NMC’s Decision:

• The bench concluded that the NMC’s decision was “fairly equitable” and could not be termed “arbitrary.”
• The Court acknowledged that the delay in the exam would cause some hardship to the petitioners, but such hardship had to be balanced against the NMC’s concerns.

Supreme Court’s Directives:

NMC’s Obligations:

• The bench accepted the petitioners’ request that the NMC should take an early decision on setting the schedule for the NEET-SS 2024 exam.
• The NMC was directed to announce the schedule within thirty days from the judgment date, considering the students who will complete their PG courses in January 2025.
• The Supreme Court ordered that the NEET-SS 2024 exam must be conducted within three months from January 2025.

Rationale Behind NMC’s Decision– Delayed Admissions Due to COVID-19:

• The NMC explained that the reason for deferring the NEET-SS 2024 exam was the delayed admissions for MD, MS, and DMB courses through the NEET-PG exam in the 2021 academic year.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these admissions were delayed, occurring between January 2022 and May 2022, leading to the course completion being pushed to January 2025.

Petitioners’ Argument:

• Advocate Rashmi Nandkumar, representing the petitioners, argued that only 40% of the students who join the SS course are from the immediately preceding PG batch.
• The petitioners contended that the decision to postpone the NEET-SS 2024 exam citing the delayed admission of the 2021 PG batch was arbitrary and would deprive the remaining 60% of students of their opportunity.

NMC’s Defense:

• Advocate Gaurav Sharma, representing the NMC, countered that if the NEET-SS exam were conducted this year, it would deprive the 2021 PG batch students of their chances.
• The NMC further justified its decision by stating that synchronizing the exam schedule with the course completion of the 2021 PG batch ensures a level playing field for all candidates across different academic batches.

Case Details RAHUL BALWAN VS. UNION OF INDIA DIARY NO. – 29216/2024