NEET 2020: SC dismisses plea seeking postponement of entrance exam

The Supreme Court has denied pleas seeking postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET 2020).

The Supreme Court has refused to entertain pleas seeking postponement of the medical entrance exam, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET 2020). The Apex Court has dismissed three petitions that amongst other things sought postponement of NEET 2020 citing the coronavirus situation in the country and facilitation of candidates in containment zones to write the exam. A bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan on Wednesday said that the petition cannot be considered now as the review plea was dismissed and JEE Main exams are already over.
The court said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) will take all necessary steps for conducting the NEET 2020 exam amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Sorry, we are not inclined to entertain,” the bench said.

This is not the first time that the Apex Court has rejected petitions on the same matter. On September 4, the SC had dismissed the review petition filed by six opposition-ruled states. Before that, the Supreme Court had rejected another plea seeking an arrangement of online exam centers for students abroad who have registered to appear for the exam.

On August 17, the Supreme Court had dismissed the plea seeking postponement of JEE Main 2020 and NEET 2020. The Apex court had stated that they cannot put the careers of the lakhs of students in jeopardy as the whole academic year is at stake.

JEE Main 2020, for over 8 lakh engineering aspirants, was conducted from September 1 to September 6. NEET 2020 is scheduled to be conducted on September 13 in pen and paper mode for over 15 lakh Undergraduate medical aspirants. 

Considering the coronavirus situation in the country, NTA has been taking the extra precautionary measures to conduct the entrance exams this year. Candidates are allowed to enter and exit the examination venue in a phased manner, face masks are provided to the candidates before entering the examination hall.

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