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Supreme Court: Set date for conducting INI CET to be arbitrary and AIIMS to postpone INI CET 2021 for one month due to COVID-19.
Facts:
In this case, writ petitions were filed by doctors with an MBBS degree who attempted to take the Institute of National Importance Combined Admission Test (INI CET) for admission to Post Graduate courses in the AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, and NIMHANS Bengaluru units for the July 2021 session. Furthermore, these Writ Petitions were filed in response to the AIIMS Examination Centre's Notice No. 81/2021 dated May 27, 2021. The AIIMS of the INI CET rescheduled the event in this Notice. The INI CET for the July 2021 session was scheduled for the 16th of June 2021. According to the Petitioners, AIIMs' decision to reschedule was hurried. Furthermore, many applicants have been volunteering at Covid Centers that are far from the examination centres for which they have registered.
Arguments:
On behalf of the Petitioners, Mr. Datar, Learned Senior Counsel, stated that the INI CET was being held to fill 850 MD and MS seats in six AIIMS, PGIMER Chandigarh, JIPMER Puducherry, and NIMHANS Bengaluru units. The INI CET was expected to be taken by 80,000 doctors having an MBBS degree. Furthermore, it is unclear whether several exams, including Board exams for this year, will be held at all. So, why was this exam conducted so quickly?
According to the Petitioners, the concerned doctors had been told that they would be given enough time to prepare for the admission test, at least a month.
Observation of the Court:
The Court heard the Petitioners' arguments and noted that a number of other major examinations, such as Joint Entrance Examinations, Board Examinations, and so on, had previously been postponed, making the INI CET's date of 16.06.2021 arbitrary and discriminatory. Many candidates for the INI CET would find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to go to their examination centres from their places of duty due to the lockdown. Furthermore, many of the doctors have been exposed to Covid 19 and are at risk of contracting it, forcing them to isolate and/or quarantine themselves. As a result, the students would be unable to write/sit for their exams on June 16th in such conditions. Furthermore, hosting the INI CET on June 16, 2021 will propagate the virus and increase the number of Covid 19 cases. As a result, the INI CET was postponed.
Held:
Taking into account the foregoing considerations and the facts of the case, the Court ordered the INI CET to be postponed by at least a month from June 16, 2021. As a result, the contested notice was dismissed. Furthermore, the AIIMS must set a date for the INI CET that is at least one month after June 16, 2021. The Writ Petitions are dismissed based on the foregoing grounds. If there is a pending application, it is disposed of.
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