The three-member bench remarked that the judges are not academic experts and cannot intervene in such matters.
Published Aug 09, 2024 | 7:27 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 09, 2024 | 7:27 PM
Supreme Court (iStock)
The Supreme Court on Friday, 9 August, refused to postpone the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Postgraduate) (NEET-PG) examination scheduled for 11 August.
The Court stated that it could not put the careers of two lakh candidates in jeopardy based on a petition filed by five students. The petition sought a deferment of the examination, arguing that candidates had been allocated exam centres in cities that were highly inconvenient for them to reach.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra remarked that the judges are not academic experts and cannot intervene in such matters.
“How can we postpone such an exam? Mr. Sanjay Hegde, nowadays people just come asking to postpone exams. It’s not a perfect world. We are not academic experts,” observed the top court to Senior Advocate Hegde, who was representing the petitioners.
“As a matter of principle, we will not reschedule the exam. There are two lakh students and four lakh parents who will weep over the weekend if we postpone it. We cannot put the careers of two lakh candidates in jeopardy at the behest of five petitioners. We cannot do this. Let there be certainty for medical students. We do not know who is behind these petitions,” the bench stated.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing the petitioners, argued before the Supreme Court that rescheduling NEET-PG was necessary because the exam is being conducted in two separate shifts—morning and afternoon—due to a shortage of examination centers. He urged the bench to issue directions for the exam to be conducted in a single batch to ensure a uniform and fair testing environment for all candidates.
As soon as the matter was taken up, the CJI remarked, “So many problems are there in the country, now to reschedule the PG Exam.”
Hegde, referring to the initial postponement of the exam from 22 June, noted that it had already been rescheduled once. When the bench indicated its reluctance to postpone the exam again, Hegde clarified that he was only pressing for the second prayer: directing the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to conduct the exam in a single batch.
Regarding the petitioners’ concerns about the normalisation process, the CJI acknowledged that normalisation may not be a perfect solution but emphasised the need to find practical solutions in a complex and diverse society.
The petition raised two primary concerns: first, that many NEET-PG 2024 candidates have been allotted test centres that are inconvenient for them to reach; and second, that the exam is scheduled to be held in two batches, with an unknown normalisation formula, which has led to fears of potential arbitrariness.
Normalisation in NEET-PG is a statistical process used to ensure fairness in scores when the examination is conducted in multiple shifts, which may vary in difficulty. The primary goal of normalisation is to adjust scores so that candidates are evaluated on a common scale, regardless of the shift they took the exam in.
How is normalisation calculated?
The normalisation process typically involves the following steps:
This method ensures that candidates who faced different levels of difficulty are treated equitably, allowing for a fair comparison of their performance.
The plea filed by Vishal Soren and others argued that many NEET-PG 2024 candidates have been allocated test centres in cities that are far from their places of domicile and highly inconvenient for them to reach. The petition highlighted that while the test cities were allotted on 31 July, the specific centres will not be disclosed until 8 August, just three days before the examination.
The plea acknowledged that the allocation of centres was intended to curb malpractices, but due to the limited time available, candidates are finding it difficult to arrange travel to the designated cities.
The petition requested the court to issue a writ of Mandamus directing the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to reschedule the NEET-PG 2024 examination.
Originally, the NEET-PG exam was scheduled for 23 June but was postponed by the Union Health Ministry due to alleged irregularities in certain competitive exams. The current petition emphasised that more than two lakh students are set to appear in the examination, which will be conducted in 185 test cities. This widespread allocation has led to non-availability of train tickets and increased airfares due to dynamic pricing, making it nearly impossible for many students to reach their test centres.
In addition to seeking a deferment of the exam, the petition also requested the disclosure of the normalisation formula for the four sets of question papers to candidates. This would help eliminate any possibility of arbitrariness in the process.
(Edited by Neena)
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