The Supreme Court on Tuesday, May 10, agreed to list the hearing of a plea for the postponement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduation (NEET-PG) exam. The plea was filed in the apex court by Dr R Dinesh Kumar Reddy and a few other doctors. The date for the urgent hearing is May 13.

The petition was given the clearance for the hearing by a Bench led by Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha. 

Senior Advocate Rakesh Khanna mentioned the matter in the Supreme Court. Justice Chandrachud, before whom it was mentioned, reportedly said, "How can we postpone a national exam? We will list it for hearing first," according to LiveLaw. The petition was filed through Advocate Ashutosh Dubey and Abhishekh Chauhan.

It may be recalled that the All India Medical Students Association (AIMSA), has also filed a writ petition seeking a postponement.

AIMSA and several other doctors have been demanding that the NEET-PG exam be deferred considering the clash with the ongoing counselling. The exam is scheduled for May 21, which is just 11 days away.

The NEET-PG 2021 counselling is ongoing and another case has been filed in the Supreme Court by students who demand the right to exit from seats that they have already joined in the second round of the NEET-PG All India Quota counselling, without paying a hefty fine so that the seats can be made available for further rounds of counselling. This case will also be mentioned before Justice Chandrachud. 

The students of AIMSA and other organisations demanding a postponement of the NEET-PG 2022 exam have said that it puts immense pressure on the students, some of whom might be appearing for the ongoing NEET-PG 2021 counselling rounds. These students have also written to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and President Ram Nath Kovind, with their demands.

Article updated with latest details at 4:50 on May 10, 2022