Common medical entrance to be held on schedule: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court refused to amend its day- old order on Friday and reiterated the common entrance test (NEET) for all medical colleges would take place in two phases despite the Centre’s U-turn on holding the exam.

A day after additional solicitor general Pinky Anand submitted that the human resource development ministry was prepared to conduct the test this year in accordance with the April 11 SC order reviving the NEET, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi rushed to justice AR Dave’s court on Friday morning with a request to reconsider the order.

Rohatgi argued the direction would put at stake the future of hundreds of thousands of students who had prepared for entrance tests organised by the states and private medical col- leges. He said medical aspirants taking the NEET on July 24 would have more time to prepare than those sitting for the first phase on Sunday. Rohatgi suggested having one exam on July 24 and asked the bench to re-hear the stakeholders before May 1.

In the afternoon, the bench declined to pass any order. It even refused to give a decision on the validity of entrance exams already conducted or scheduled by the states and private colleges. That put a question mark on the selection criterion for admission to medical colleges.

CONTINUED ON P11 RELATED REPORT, P4