NEET PG 2023 Exam: Supreme Court Dismisses Postponement Plea, Exam On March 5

The Supreme Court has dismissed petitions seeking to postpone NEET PG 2023 exam.

NEET PG Exam is scheduled to be conducted on March 5.

The Supreme Court dismisses petitions seeking to postpone NEET PG 2023 exam scheduled on March 5. The petitioners requested the postponement of the NEET PG 2023 exam citing inadequate time to prepare for the test adequately.

A Bench comprising Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice Dipankar Datta refused to entertain the petitions filed by candidates who claimed that they were not getting enough time to prepare for exams due to their ongoing internships.

During the argument, ASG Aishwarya Bhati said that NEET PG 2023 date was announced six months ago and during the first window, 2.03 lakh candidates had registered and admit card has been issued today as scheduled.

ASG Bhati said that only 6000 students have applied to take the exam during the second window, and therefore the demand for postponement is being made by a minority group.

Sr. Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said that usually, the gap between the internship deadline and the exam is never more than two months.

"Is there much advantage by rushing the exam in this manner?", the senior counsel asked. 

Recently, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) extended the NEET PG 2023 internship cut-off date to June 30, 2023. 

Students and medical organizations have been expressing concerns that the delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in NEET 2022 counseling and admissions have significantly impacted the preparation of medical aspirants. As a result, with NEET 2022 stray round counseling being conducted in January, candidates will not have sufficient time to prepare for NEET PG 2023 if the exam is held in March 2023, as currently scheduled.

NEET PG is the sole qualifying entrance exam for MD/MS/PG Diploma courses in India and no other state or institutional-level entrance exams will be considered valid for admission to these courses, as per the regulations of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. NEET PG is conducted every year in different cities across the country and lakhs of aspirants take part in the exam.