The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to MBBS and BDS courses across India, will be held tomorrow as scheduled.
The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to accord an urgent hearing of a plea seeking modification of its earlier order to conduct the test in two phases.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Tirath Singh Thakur, did not allow a plea seeking urgent hearing for modification of the April 28 order with regard to the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET).
On Thursday, the CBSE had presented a schedule for holding the exam for this academic session, after which the court ruled that NEET would replace the AIPMT exam held by the board. The first phase of the examination will be held on May 1. Nearly 6.5 lakh students are expected to take it. The second phase has been scheduled for July 24 in which 2.5 lakh candidates will appear and results for the two phases will be announced on August 17. The admission process, based on the single test will be over by September 30.
“Nothing will happen in the meantime. Matter had been heard by the bench and it is over for now. Please allow the examination to be conducted,” the bench, also comprising Justices A K Sikri and R Banumathi said, when lawyers, representing some students, said that the order on NEET needed to be modified as students who had prepared for the state-level entrance exams will find it difficult to prepare for the NEET in such a short span of time.
The court, for the time being refused to entertain the plea and asked the lawyers concerned to file an application which would be heard by the regular bench, hearing the case.
It had approved the schedule put before it by the Centre, CBSE and the Medical Council of India (MCI) for treating All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) fixed for May 1 as NEET-1.
It had said those who had not applied for AIPMT will be given the opportunity to appear in NEET-II on July 24 and the combined result would be declared on August 17 so that the admission process can be completed by September 30.