NEET-PG Internship Deadline Dispute: Supreme Court Upholds Cut-off Date

The legal dispute in Shikhar & Anr. vs. National Board of Examination & Ors. revolved around the eligibility criteria for NEET-PG 2022, specifically the cut-off date for the completion of internships. The petitioners, medical students aspiring to appear for NEET-PG 2022, challenged the deadline set by the National Board of Examination, arguing that the delays in their internship due to COVID-19 duties should be considered for eligibility.

The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, questioned the fairness of requiring internships to be completed by 31 May 2022. The government extended this deadline to 31 July 2022 following representations by affected students, but the petitioners contended that this was still insufficient for students from certain states where internships commenced later due to COVID-19-related disruptions.

Arguments by the Petitioners

The petitioners’ counsel, Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, argued that the delayed start of internships in states like Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir put students in those states at a disadvantage. He asserted:

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“The commencement of the internships was delayed in these States due to the Covid situation and as a consequence, these students would not be able to fulfill the cut-off date of 31 July 2022. Hence, it has been urged that the cut-off date should be extended further to accommodate these students for the NEET-PG 2022. In the alternative, it has been urged that the period spent on Covid duties should be allowed to be counted towards the internship requirements.”

Government’s Response

The Additional Solicitor General, Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, opposed the petition, highlighting the administrative and logistical challenges of further extending the deadline. She contended:

“Examinations are now scheduled to be held on 21 May 2022; counselling will be expected to commence in the third or fourth week of July 2022; and, under the time schedule which is proposed, classes are likely to commence on 1 August 2022. Any extension of the internship completion deadline would result in the disruption of the entire schedule.”

Regarding the alternative plea to count COVID-19 duties towards internships, the government argued:

“Covid duties do not cover all specialties and, hence, the acceptance of this request would result in tinkering with the educational curriculum.”

Supreme Court’s Ruling

The Supreme Court, led by a bench comprising Dr. Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Bela M. Trivedi, ruled in favor of maintaining the extended deadline of 31 July 2022. The Court reasoned that determining academic eligibility criteria falls within the domain of the executive and regulatory authorities, stating:

“Courts should be circumspect in exercising their powers of judicial review in matters concerning academic policies, including admission criteria. Unless shown to be plainly arbitrary or discriminatory, the court would defer to the wisdom of administrators in academic institutions who might devise policies in regard to curricular admission process, career progression of their employees, matters of discipline or other general administrative issues concerning the institution or university.”

The Court further clarified that judicial interference in academic decisions should only be exercised in cases of clear violations of fundamental or statutory rights. It cited previous judgments emphasizing that policy decisions should not be altered merely to accommodate specific hardships.

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Conclusion

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, upholding the extended cut-off date of 31 July 2022 for internship completion while refusing to grant further extensions or recognize COVID-19 duties as part of the internship requirement. The ruling reaffirms the principle that courts should not intervene in academic regulations unless they are arbitrary or unconstitutional. This judgment brings clarity to future policy decisions in medical education and reinforces the government’s role in structuring examination schedules.

Petitioner Name: Shikhar & Anr..
Respondent Name: National Board of Examination & Ors..
Judgment By: Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice Surya Kant, Justice Bela M. Trivedi.
Place Of Incident: India.
Judgment Date: 05-04-2022.

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