Delhi HC dismisses plea to postpone NEET-UG exam scheduled on July 17

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed a plea by several National Eligibility cum Entrance Test- Undergraduate (NEET-UG) aspirants seeking to postpone the competitive examination for the year 2022 which is scheduled to be held on July 17, saying it was totally a "misconceived" plea.

The high court, which held there was no merit in the petition, said as the petitioners were students so it was not going harsh on them.

"Had it been somebody else, the court would have dismissed the petition with heavy costs, " Justice Sanjeev Narula said.

The high court added that if such matters are filed in the future, it will not shy away from imposing costs.

It questioned the petitioners' counsel for approaching the court at the last moment as the exam for the undergraduate medical and dental courses were scheduled on July 17.

The petitioners had sought to set aside the date fixed for the entrance test and re-schedule it after four to six weeks on several grounds, including that the schedule of the national level examinations, that is, NEET, JEE, and Central Universities Entrance Test (CUET), is “unorganised” and the same has “caused immense mental trauma and harassment resulting in 16 reported suicides of young students leaving their families in a state of despair”.

The petition stated that the class 12th board examination ended in mid of June 2022 and the students have been forced to prepare for three national-level examinations without getting sufficient time to prepare.