NEET-MDS 2021 : Supreme Court Issues Notice On Dental Graduates' Plea Seeking Counselling Date Within 3 Weeks

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice in a plea filed seeking directions to the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) to release the counselling date for NEET-MDS 2021 at the earliest and not later than three weeks in any event.

A Division Bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice MR Shah issued the following order:

"Mr Vikas Singh, Senior Counsel appearing for the petitioners submits that the petitioners appeared for MDS- NEET 2021 examination conducted on Dec 16th 2020 by National Board of Examination whose results were declared on Dec 31st 2020. However there's no update to student candidates on counselling until date, as a result of which valuable months in the lives and careers of students are being wasted. Issue notice. Returnable in 2 weeks."

Based on Senior Counsel Vikas Singh's request to hear the matter after one week, the Bench noted that the matter will be heard on June 12th.

Mr Singh informed the Court that the counselling is not being scheduled as they are waiting for the MBBS students and the NEET PG Counselling.

"Yes. These are completely different things. You are not on Covid duty, those doctors are on Covid duty, they are getting stipends." Justice Chandrachud said.

"We'll keep it instead of next Friday on Monday thereafter. So they will have about 10 days." Justice Chandrachud observed.

The Dental Graduates represented by Advocate Tanvi Dubey, has also sought directions to conduct a separate counselling for the NEET-MDS 2021 and not wait for NEET-PG counselling for commencement of NEET-MDS 2021 counselling.

While stressing on the undue delay caused in announcing counselling schedule for NEET-MDS 2021, the present plea has been filed through Advocate Charu Mathur seeking directions to MCC to conduct a separate counselling for the NEET-MDS 2021 and not wait for NEET-PG counselling, to commence with NEET-MDS 2021 counselling.

The Petitioners who are NEET-MDS aspirants and hold a BDS degree, have challenged the 'unjust and infinite delay' caused by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) in announcement of the counselling schedule for NEET-MDS 2021.

It may be noted that NEET-MDS is the single eligibility cum entrance examination for admission to MDS Courses for the academic session 2021.

The plea has stated that while NEET-MDS usually commences in March every year, this year, even after six months of declaration of the results, there is no update regarding the counselling schedule.

According to the petitioners, any further delay in the announcement of counselling dates will lead to wastage of entire year of the petitioners and thousands of other candidates. The petitioners have argued that there is no reasonable nexus for the counselling of NEET-PG and NEET-MDS to be held together, when the former was postponed and decided not be conducted until 31st August 2021 with a one month notice to prepare thereafter.

While calling the delay arbitrary, unjust and unreasonable, the plea has further stated that delay in announcement of the counselling schedule is also against the MDS Course Regulations, 2007, which mandates the academic session to commence from 1st May and under no circumstances be delayed beyond 31st May