The Supreme Court maintained that the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) will be held in two phases even as the Centre urged the bench to reconsider its Thursday’s ruling to conduct the entrance exam twice. Justice Dave said that since the bench that originally presided over the matter did not sit today, it will not hear the case. “Let the test go on,” he stated
As per the earlier order, the NEET was to be held in two phases-on May 1 and July 24. But Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi suggested that instead of a two-phased NEET, it can be held on one day, on July 24.
The CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) and the Medical Council of India (MCI) have given a joint undertaking to conduct the exam in two phases.
CBSE counsel, additional solicitor general Pinky Anand, said the board has fixed May 1 for the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and that would be rescheduled as the first phase of the NEET. She said over 6,70,000 students had already enrolled themselves for the paper.
According to Anand, around 2,50,000 students were left out, who, she said, could be accommodated in the second phase after they deposited the required fee.
On April 11, a five-judge SC bench had recalled its 2013 verdict quashing the MCI notification introducing the NEET. The judgment was delivered on a batch of petitions challenging the common entrance exam. But there was uncertainty over whether the NEET would be implemented this year as the top court decided to examine the MCI’s notification afresh.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the MCI, created an uproar after he said students who did not enroll themselves for the AIPMT were not “serious medical students”.
Health minister JP Nadda was quoted to have said that the “ministry welcomed the move and offered all the help to conduct the exam successfully.”
“The first phase of NEET will be conducted as per schedule for government college seats and the second phase will include all medical colleges under the purview of MCI, including deemed universities,” sources said.