SC affirms decision not to hold NEET super speciality exam in 2024

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) decision not to conduct the NEET-Super Speciality Exam (NEET-SS) 2024 this year.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, noted that the data provided by the NMC indicated that at least 40% of the candidates who take the NEET-SS are drawn from the most recent graduating batch.
The court observed that the petitioners, who have previously taken the NEET-SS, would not be unduly harmed if the exam is postponed to next year.
However, it noted that holding the exam this year would disadvantage students from the 2021 post-graduate batch, who are set to complete their courses only in January 2025, by denying them an opportunity to appear.
Also Read:States can collect past tax dues on mineral rights, Supreme Court rejects Centre’s plea
In light of this, the bench held that the NMC’s decision is “fairly equitable” and cannot be considered “arbitrary.”
Simultaneously, the court accepted the petitioners’ request for the NMC to promptly lay down a schedule for the NEET-SS 2024 exam.
The bench ordered that the schedule be announced within 30 days, taking into account the number of students completing their PG courses in January 2025.
Furthermore, the bench directed that the exam be conducted within three months of January 2025.
Thirteen doctors had moved the Supreme Court assailing the NMC’s decision to not hold NEET-SS in 2024.
The NMC justified its decision to defer the NEET-SS 2024 exam due to the delayed admissions for MD, MS, and DMB courses through the NEET-PG exam in the 2021 academic year.
These admissions, delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, occurred between January 2022 and May 2022, resulting in course completion being pushed to January 2025. To accommodate these students, the NMC decided to postpone the NEET-SS 2024 exam.
Advocate Rashmi Nandkumar, representing the petitioners, argued that only 40% of students who join the Super Speciality course are from the most recent PG batch. Therefore, the decision to cancel NEET-SS this year was arbitrary, as it would deprive the remaining 60% of students of their opportunity.
On behalf of the NMC, senior advocate Gaurav Sharma countered that conducting the NEET-SS this year would result in the 2021 PG batch students losing their chance to appear for the exam.
While acknowledging that the delay in the exam would cause some inconvenience to the petitioners, the bench emphasised that this hardship must be balanced against the broader concerns highlighted by the NMC.