NEET PG SC hearing NOT today; none appeared for Centre, Supreme Court likely to hear plea on October 4

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will not hear the petitions against the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) filed by NEET PG aspirants today. The NEET PG SC hearing on last-minute exam pattern change and result discrepancies has been postponed to October 4. The case has been rescheduled as no one from the Union of India showed up at the last hearing. NEET PG Counselling 2024 Live Updates

As per the latest update, the Supreme Court will tentatively hear the NEET PG petitions against the NBE and normalisation of marks on October 4. The plea, filed by Ishika Jain and 18 others, was last heard on September 20 when the apex court noted the last-minute changes as “very unusual”, saying that it could have caused students a “meltdown”.

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud took note of the submissions of senior advocate Vibha Datta Makhija and lawyer Tanvi Dubey, appearing for the students, and sought responses from the NBE and the Centre within a week and listed the matter for hearing on September 27.

However, on the day of hearing, none appeared on behalf of the Union of India. Taking a note of this, the top court requested “the presence of any of the additional solicitors general to assist the court in the matter”.

“A copy of the order may be communicated to the office of the Solicitor General so that necessary arrangements can be made for representation of the Union of India. List the Petitions on 4 October 2024,” the order read.

Supreme Court decision on NEET PG hearing 2024 date. (Image: sci.gov.in)

Why did NEET PG aspirants move SC?

Days before the national-level NEET PG exam 2024 for admission into MD, MD, Diploma, DNB courses, the NBEMS introduced changes in the exam pattern. Aspirants have been expressing concerns over the changes in the examination pattern, normalisation of marks, disclosure of answer keys and the question papers held on August 11.

"Everything was dependent on a single information bulletin which can be modified at the whims and fancies of the authorities," the senior advocate appearing for petitioners said.

Although the counsel for the NBE contested the submissions and said nothing new and unusual were done, CJI said: "It is very unusual… Three days before the examinations (exam pattern was changed) ...students will have a meltdown."

The NEET PG results 2024 were declared on August 23, which led to concerns among students over unexpectedly low rankings. This also raised suspicion about discrepancies in the ranking process and urged the board to disclose the final answer key and the marking method.

Careers360 analysed the NEET PG results 2024 and here’s what we found - NEET PG results 2024 raise questions on transparency: here’s why aspirants moved Supreme Court