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Dr R. Dinesh Kumar Reddy & Ors. vs. Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) & Ors.

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2022 INSC 567Decided 13 May 2022
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 341 of 2022

Background

MBBS doctors who had appeared for the NEET-PG 2021 entrance test and were still undergoing counselling for postgraduate medical seats approached the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the NEET-PG 2022 examination (scheduled for 21 May 2022), arguing that the tight overlap between the tail-end of the 2021 counselling process and the 2022 exam left them and similarly-placed doctors unfairly little time to prepare. They asked for the exam to be pushed back by about two months and for an extension of the registration deadline, which had already closed on 25 March 2022.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court dismissed the writ petition, holding that scheduling of the entrance examination is a policy decision of the Union Government and the National Board of Examinations, into which courts should not intervene absent manifest arbitrariness. It noted that over 2 lakh (200,000+) doctors had already registered for the 2022 exam under the existing timeline, that any further postponement would seriously disrupt their preparation and career plans, and that delaying the exam would shrink the pool of resident doctors available in hospitals, directly affecting patient care. Balancing the petitioners' hardship against the far larger number of registered candidates and public health considerations, the Court held the government's decision not to postpone the exam was not arbitrary and declined to interfere.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will not use their writ jurisdiction to reschedule examination timetables or override government policy on academic administration merely because a smaller group of candidates faces a tight schedule: such matters lie within the executive's domain unless the decision is shown to be irrational, and courts will weigh the interests of the much larger body of unaffected candidates and the public interest before granting such relief.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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