The Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to postpone the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test - Master of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS 2024) scheduled for March 18, a report in Hindustan Times claimed. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, leading a panel, rejected the request to postpone the exam, stating that the petition, submitted by dentists, was filed at the eleventh hour.

According to the outlet, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) mentioned that approximately 28,000 students preparing for medical exams will take part in the upcoming examination. The petitioners submitted their application at the eleventh hour in their legal plea. Initially, the petitioners requested an extension of the deadline, which was set for March 31, 2024, to complete their internship and become eligible for NEET-MDS.

The court observed that the issue had already been resolved since the internship deadline was extended to June 30 by the Centre. An official notification by NBEMS had said, "Desirous candidates who are completing their internship during 01.04.2024 to 30.06.2024 and are fulfilling all other criteria as prescribed in the Information Bulletin of NEET-MDS 2024 can apply for NEET-MDS 2024."

After this choice was made, the exam registration was made available for a period of three days, specifically from March 9 to March 11. Approximately 568 individuals completed the registration process and met the requirements to participate in the examination.

Earlier, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) had sent a letter to Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union Health Minister, requesting a rescheduling of the NEET MDS -2024 exam. According to news agency ANI, the FORDA doctors had appealed to the minister to take their plea into consideration, as it aimed to address the problem of ineligibility and provide equal opportunities to all candidates.

Medical students have filed a request to the highest court, asking for the National Medical Commission (NMC) to delay the NEET MDS 2024 exam until July and extend the deadline for completing internships. The NEET MDS 2024 exam is currently scheduled for March 18th.