The Supreme Court directed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi to postpone the INI CET 2021 exam which was earlier scheduled to be held on June 16, 2021. The top court ruled that the decision of the AIIMS to conduct the exam on June 16 was arbitrary while hearing petitions filed by a group of doctors against the decision.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences conduct the INI CET exam for admission to PG Medical courses such as MD, MS, DM, M.Ch etc. in some of the top medical colleges of India. While the minimum eligibility to appear in the INI CET exam is a graduate medical degree, such graduate doctors have been engaged in COVID duty serving the nation at the frontline in the war against the pandemic. As such, the community of doctors aspiring for admission to PG medical courses readily protested when the AIIMS announced the exam date with only about two weeks time in hand.
Doctors alleged that the Prime Minister had earlier assured that at least one month’s time will be provided before the exam is held since doctors are engaged in COVID duty and will need time for preparations. However, AIIMS announced the exam date only in the last week of May 2021 leaving candidates with just about 2 weeks to prepare for the exam. As per reports, some doctors who are serving outside of their hometown may also face difficulty in reaching exam centres amidst the lockdown on socio-economic activities, if the exam is held on June 16, 2021.
Division bench of the top court including Justices Indira Banerjee and MR Shah ruled that there is no reason as to why AIIMS cannot postpone the exam. The exam which was scheduled to be held on June 16, can be held anytime after expiry of a month, the bench of justices ruled. As per reports, although AIIMS Lawyer initially cited that postponing the exam will lead to scarcity of doctors, he eventually consulted authorities and came to terms with the proposal of the apex court.
Latest reports indicate that a group of 26 doctors from various states of India moved to the top court seeking direction regarding the postponement of the exam. They also reportedly highlighted that NEET PG 2021, another important PG medical admission entrance test has been deferred this year to August 2021. The doctors cited that conducting the exams on June 16, 2021, will be a direct violation of their fundamental rights as per provisions of the Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
