New Delhi, Sep 9
The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain three petitions that were seeking postponement or cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled to be held on September 13.
A three-judge bench comprising of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah said that the concerned authorities will take all necessary steps and measures for conducting the NEET-undergraduate examinations amid the COVID-19 pandemic for admission in medical.
“We are not inclined to entertain your petitions (to the group of petitioners), right now and at this stage,” the bench said adding, “There is no merit in the petitions and it is without any evidence and substance.”
The Top Court had earlier also on August 17 dismissed a similar plea seeking postponement of the NEET and JEE. The Court at that time, while dismissing the petition, maintained that career of the students cannot be put on peril for long. After this a review petition, jointly filed by ministers from six non-BJP ruled states, was also dismissed by the Supreme Court.
The petitioners averred that they were only seeking the postponement of the examination due to an alarming spurt of COVID-19 cases in India, but, their pleas were dismissed.
“Everything is over now. Review has also been dismissed. JEE is also over. How can we consider the petition now?”, the Bench questioned the petitioner while refusing to entertain their plea.
The conduction of NEET during the pandemic times has remained a bone of contention between the Government and the Opposition. Several political factions have been demanding the postponement of the examinations in view of the students’ safety.
The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Mains for admission to engineering colleges was conducted on September 1 amid stringent precautions and social distancing measures in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The NEET exam is scheduled for September 13, Sunday.
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