Case Analysis: Ganesh Pawar and Ors v. Union of India, (2023) | NEET-PG 2023

The Case Analysis: Ganesh Pawar and Ors v. Union of India, (2023) contains the decision of the Supreme Court related to the postponement of NEET PG 2023.

A plea by doctors asking for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) postgraduate test, which is planned for March 5, 2023, to be delayed was denied by the Supreme Court on Monday (27th February 2023). The petition unequivocally states that the petitioners are prepared and eager to take the NEET-PG 2023–24 exam, but because the NBE’s (National Board of Examination) conduct is arbitrary and unreasonable, it has been contested. The candidates are made to suffer due to NBE's poor management. NBE announced the examination date without consulting the State Medical bodies, there was not enough time to prepare in addition to the busy internship schedules, timely notification of eligibility was not given, and the examination schedule as it is now will not regularise the examination process as the 2023–24 session cannot be held.

Case Title: Ganesh Pawar and Ors v. Union of India and Ors

Court: Supreme Court of India

Citation: WP(C) No. 247/2023

Date of Judgment: 27th February 2023

Bench: Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice Dipankar Datta

Facts of the Case

The Telangana State High Court Division Bench did not postpone the NEET PG Exam. It was argued before the High Court that medical students who graduated in the years 2021–2022 were not given enough time to study for entrance exams. By its common ruling of February 15, 2023, the High Court decided on the petitions concerning admissions to P.G. programmes in medical and dental sciences. It instructed the petitioner students to provide new arguments in support of delaying the NEET exam. The court ruled that the respondents "must consider and adopt relevant orders in accordance with law as speedily as practicable, taking in mind that Entrance Examination is scheduled to be held in the first week of March 2023," after receiving such a representation.

Even though the petitioners' MBBS course was completed for the academic year 2021–2022 and their internship is scheduled to end on August 11, 2023, it was stated before the High Court that they were initially disqualified from taking the NEET PG test. The cut-off date for the NEET PG test was set by the National Board of Examination in Medical Science as March 31, 2023, meaning that individuals who had finished their internships as of that date or earlier were qualified to take the NEET P.G. exam. Eventually, after complaints, the deadline to be eligible to apply for the NEET PG exam was extended from March 31, 2023, to June 30, 2023, and then again to August 11, 2023.

The petitioners have petitioned the High Court, arguing that the March 5 NEET PG exam should be postponed for a fair amount of time so that the petitioners can study for the exam. The National Medical Commission had responded that the NEET admission notification had been released in September 2022, that all necessary preparations had been made for the NEET P.G. examination to be held on March 5, 2023, and that any postponement of the examinations would result in chaos throughout the nation.

Additionally, it was stated before the court that for the upcoming academic year, every effort would be made to ensure that all applicants who had completed the MBBS/BDS course were made eligible and that students would have every opportunity to study for the exam and sit for it.

Issues involved

In petitions submitted through Attorney Charu Mathur and Dubey Law Associates, the petitioners contest the National Board of Examination's (NBE) decision to inform candidates of the updated qualifying requirements as late as February 7, 2023. The petitioners claim that the act is unfair, and arbitrary, and does not provide them enough time to study for the exam, which is set for March 5, 2023.

The petitioners' senior attorney, Mukul Rohatgi, argued that the problem arises because each state has a different internship schedule. The senior counsel questioned why the exam couldn't be postponed by a few weeks if the counselling was to take place after August.

Almost 2.09 lakh applicants have registered, according to Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, speaking on behalf of the NBE. The tests will be administered by a technology partner, whose services have been enlisted; if the exams are postponed, potential dates might not become available anytime soon since the technology partner may not be accessible.

Judgment

For the purpose of getting the National Board of Examinations' response, the bench had scheduled the matter's most recent hearing for February 27. A plea by seventeen doctors asking for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) postgraduate test, which is planned for March 5, 2023, to be delayed was denied by the Supreme Court on Monday. Candidates who complained that they had less time to study for exams since their internships were still ongoing were denied the right to file their petitions by a bench made up of Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice Dipankar Datta.

“For those who are waiting for this (examination), it is really a mental torture,” the bench observed, adding, “When we postpone a judicial exam, there is agony for the candidates who are preparing for it. The whole dynamics change.”

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