NEET 2018: Delhi HC to hold next eligibility criteria hearing on April 24

APRIL 17, New Delhi: The Delhi High Court will hold its next hearing on the NEET eligibility criteria on April 24, 2018. NEET candidates unable to download the admit card so far will be able to do so depending on the outcome of the hearing on that date.

A two member Bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar had earlier heard the arguments presented by the counsel for the petitioning students and the Medical Council of India (MCI) on April 16 and April 17, 2018, before deciding to hold the next hearing on April 24, 2018.

The CBSE had earlier released the admit card of NEET 2018 on April 17, 2018. The exam will be held on May 6 this year.

Who can and cannot download the NEET 2018 Admit Card?

All candidates who submitted the NEET Application Form by the revised last date of March 12, 2018, are allowed to download their NEET Admit Card till the exam date. Candidates simply had to visit the official CBSE NEET website and register with the required credentials, comprising their registration number and date of birth. They would then be able to download their admit card in PDF format as made available by the CBSE.

However, candidates from open schools and those above the upper age limit, in addition to all those who had only been allowed to apply for NEET post the Delhi High Court’s interim orders passed on February 26 and February 28, 2018, are currently unable to download the admit card. The following message is currently being displayed for open school students attempting to download the admit card -

Similar messages are being displayed for other candidates who are currently not able to download the admit card.

What is the status of the case?

The MCI triggered a huge controversy on January 22 when it intorduced various changes to the NEET 2018 eligibility criteria without warning. Numerous students, including those from open schools, those above the upper age limit of 25 years, those who had studied Biology as an additional subject in Class 12 and those who had completed their schooling privately were all rendered ineligible from appearing from NEET due to the new rules.

Despite protests across the country, the same changes were ratified by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) when it released the NEET 2018 Prospectus and Application Form on February 8, 2018.

Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar first heard the separate petitions filed by various affected students in February and attached them as part of the same case. On February 26 and February 28, the Court issued interim orders as per which all the newly ineligible students could proceed with submitting the NEET 2018 application form. However, the Court also clarified that the final hearing on whether these candidates would be able to appear for the exam would take place in April.

A separate Bench of the Delhi High Court had on April 12 instructed the CBSE not to reject the applications of any of the candidates applying for NEET 2018. Many aspirants were subsequently hopeful about their chances of being able to download the admit card. However, the CBSE has decided to wait until a final verdict is reached before issuing all candidates with the same. A notification was issued by the Board in this regard on April 17 which can be seen below -

What next?

As per Dr. Amit Gupta, a prominent student activist who has been responsible for bringing together the affected students from different parts of the country, “Admit Cards for NEET 2018 for remaining candidates (Age Limit & NIOS) will be released after final hearing of our case in Delhi High Court on 24th April”.

The affected students are hopeful that the Court will take a favorable stance over their eligibility this year and allow them to appear for the national level medical entrance exam. Only if a verdict is passed in their favour will their admit cards be released and permission given to appear for the exam.