SC refuses to entertain PIL against reduction of qualifying percentile to ‘zero’ for NEET PG Counselling 2023

The bench expressed disinclination to entertain the plea and dismissed it for want of locus standi.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a PIL by a Delhi-based lawyer against the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s decision to reduce to zero the qualifying percentile for admission in Medical and Dental PG courses through NEET PG Counselling 2023.

A bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra. questioned the locus of the petitioner saying that he is not an aspirant who is actually aggrieved with the decision.

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At this, the petitioner replied: “My petition is not from an admission perspective. I am only saying what kind of health service they will give. They are going to be superspecialists”.

The bench expressed disinclination to entertain the plea and dismissed it for want of locus standi.

Earlier in the day, CJI Chandrachud agreed to take up the plea for urgent hearing upon being mentioned by the petitioner.

The petition filed by Sachin Jain under Article 32 of the Constitution said that decision is clearly irrational, arbitrary, unprecedented and gravely prejudices the interest of the public at large and poses a risk to human lives by compromising on the quality of specialists doctors, which deserves to be interfered and set aside by the Supreme Court.

As per the plea, the impugned decision taken by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on September 20 will “result in rendering everyone who had registered and appeared in the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) examination, eligible for a seat in the PG course, clearly defeating the purpose of a common entrance test and poses a risk to human lives by compromising on the quality of doctors/ specialists”.

Earlier in PG courses, there was a minimum percentile of 50 per cent for general category candidates and 40 per cent percentile for SC/ST and OBC candidates provided under Regulation 9(3) of the Post Graduate Regulations, 2000