Delhi High Court issues notice to Centre on plea related to NEET-SS 2021

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Central government on a petition filed by an overseas citizen of India (OCI) challenging a provision in the notification relating to eligibility criteria for NEET-SS 2021. A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti asked the Central government and National Board of Examinations (NBE) in Medical Sciences to file a reply to the petition. Also Read | Sukhbir Singh Badal objects to Harji Grewal’s anti-national remark Delhi High Court has listed the matter for further hearing on September 23. The petition was filed through advocate Shivendra Singh. Also read | Air India’s Amritsar-Rome direct flight resumes from September 8 According to the petition, the petitioner, Dr Snigdha Kamini, an OCI cardholder, who has studied both for Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Master of Surgery (MS) in India, is aggrieved by the addition of the words after "such other tests" in para (4)(ii) (including the proviso) in the notification dated March 4, 2021, issued by the Central government. Para 4 of the notification deals with non-resident Indians. Para (4)(ii) of the notification stated that Parity with non-resident Indians in the matter of appearing for the all India entrance tests such as National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Joint Entrance Examination (Mains), Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) or such other tests to make them eligible for admission only against any non-resident Indian seat or any supernumerary seat, provided that the OCI cardholder shall not be eligible for admission against any seat reserved exclusively for Indian citizens. The petitioner, who is interested in pursuing super speciality studies (M Ch Course in Surgical Oncology) and has been working towards it for a few years, said that the impugned notification would virtually halt her career progression in India. "Until last year, OCIs were eligible to appear for the super speciality entrance exams conducted by the respondent NBE," the petitioner said. "It is well-known that the path to becoming a specialist doctor is arduous and the petitioner cannot be expected to from the scratch. To deny even the eligibility to the Petitioner to write the 2021 NEET-SS examination is patently illegal. India is in dire need of healthcare professionals as evident during the COVID pandemic crisis and by the extremely poor doctor-patient ratio. The impugned notification would only demotivate healthcare professionals from staying back in India," the petitioner said. (ANI)

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