The Supreme Court on Friday refuted a petition seeking to postpone the NEET-PG 2024 examination, which is currently scheduled to take place on August 11, 2024. Additionally, the court also dismissed the challenge to the National Board of Exams’ decision to hold the exam in two batches and apply a normalisation formula.

The bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, declined to entertain the petition.

Chief Justice Chandrachud remarked, “So many problems are there in the country, now to reschedule the PG Exam,” as the matter was brought before the court.

Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing the petitioners, noted that the exam had already been postponed once from June 22.

When the bench showed reluctance, Hegde clarified that he was focusing solely on the second request: to direct the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to conduct the exam in a single batch to ensure a uniform and fair testing environment for all candidates.

The bench noted that only 5 out of more than 200,000 students had filed the petition. However, Hegde countered that the demand is supported by numerous students, citing that he has received approximately 50,000 messages.
“At the behest of 5 petitioners, we can’t put the career of 2 lakh students at jeopardy. Let there be certainty,” CJI said, adding that “As a matter of principle, we will not reschedule. There are two lakh students and 4 lakh parents who will weep over the weekend,” as quoted by Live Law.

Regarding the petitioners’ concerns about normalization, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) acknowledged that normalization might not be an ideal solution. The CJI emphasized the need to explore practical solutions within our complex and diverse society.

The petition raised two main issues: first, that many NEET-PG 2024 candidates have been assigned test centers that are difficult for them to access. Second, that the exam is scheduled to be conducted in two batches, and the normalization formula remains unknown to the candidates, leading to concerns about potential arbitrariness.