The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on July 7 a petition challenging a government ordinance diluting an apex court order declaring the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as the sole means to gain admission to undergraduate MBBS and BDS courses this academic year.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur agreed to hear the plea made by Vyapam scam whistleblower Arvind Rai at a short notice despite the fact that a Vacation Bench of the apex court had recently refused to intervene immediately in the issue.
The ordinance, which received presidential assent on May 24, partially eclipses the May 9 order of the Supreme Court by allowing State governments to conduct their own entrance exams alongside the NEET for this academic session alone.
In May, several States tried hard to convince the apex court ordinance on NEET was nothing short of interference in their prerogative to hold separate tests.