Candidates of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 have filed an additional affidavit with the Supreme Court, drawing attention to discrepancies in the current counselling process. This submission is part of their broader plea related to issues regarding non-transparency in both the examination and its results.
In the previous hearing held on Friday, September 20, the apex court issued a notice to the National Board of Examination (NBE) and the Union of India, requesting a response regarding the last-minute changes to the exam pattern.
As informed by the petitioner, the additional affidavit, which was filed yesterday, September 23, has been accepted by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and the matter is tentatively listed for Friday, September 27.
So what are the concerns regarding the counselling process?
Since the initial petition was filed in the Supreme Court on September 6, the petitioners and candidates have been advocating for a deferral of the counselling process until their concerns are addressed. Despite these requests, the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) initiated the registration process for the first round of counselling on September 20, the same day the Supreme Court issued a notice to the exam authorities.
Candidates are now expressing concerns that the counselling process is being conducted in a hurried manner.
Dr Reema Singh, a NEET-PG 2024 candidate, said, “Every year when the counselling process begins, all necessary information, such as the seat matrix for each college and course and the schedules for both All India and state counselling is made available. This year, however, they only issued a notice stating that registrations would start at 5 pm. Five days have passed, and no additional information has been posted on the website. We do not even know when the registration window closes.”
The candidate further noted that, in the absence of official information, they are relying on a ‘leaked’ document containing the NEET-PG counselling schedule.
What has happened so far?
On September 20, a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expressed their concerns regarding last-minute changes in the exam pattern.
“You are playing with the life of students. this is very unusual. how can you change the pattern before 3 days of exams. Students will have a meltdown,” the CJI said while seeking a response from the exam authorities.
Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Vibha Datta Makhija argued that the exam authorities introduced a two-session exam pattern just a few days before the examination, which led to confusion among the student community.
Primarily, the petitioners have sought an official answer key and response sheet to be released by the NBE, seeking transparency in the exam process.
