NEET PG 2022: Supreme Court dismisses plea seeking extension of internship deadline

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on April 5 disposed of a petition filed by National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) PG 2022 aspirants seeking extension of internship completion deadline beyond July 31 to accommodate interns whose internship got delayed due to COVID-19 duties, as per Live Law. "Any extension of the cut off would result in disruption of the education schedule," the top court observed while dismissing the plea.

Petitioners had also sought a relief to permit the candidates who fail to complete internship to apply for the NEET PG 2022 exam if eligible as per the criteria. On this, the apex court said, “The alternative prayer for inclusion of CoVID duties would also involve the court to micromanage the curriculum.”

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The plea had further sought a relief to exclude the period when the candidate served in COVID-19 duties from the one-year internship period. The petitioners argued that the revised internship deadline to July 31 still leaves several candidates ineligible for NEET PG 2022 exam especially those from Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala among other states.

"The same will not only unjustly deprive the candidates from applying for NEET-PG 2022-23 exam but will also lead to wastage of the entire year," the plea had argued.

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The aspirants argued that neither the National Board of Examinations (NBE) nor the colleges informed them that serving in COVID-19 duties would affect their internship completion process and cause a delay in its commencement. The plea said that the candidates made informal enquiries from the colleges which assured them that it would not affect their eligibility for NEET PG 2022 registration.

In February, NBE extended the deadline of internship completion for NEET PG 2022 to July 31.