The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to entertain the plea of an underage NEET aspirant seeking directions to permit him to appear in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-2021, conducted by the National Testing Agency, for taking admission in undergraduate medical courses.

The Division Bench led by Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh was hearing the plea by a student who was could not fill online application form for NEET-2021 as he does not satisfy the minimum age criteria required for taking the exam.

Dr. Surendra Kumar Yadav, representing the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner is underage by merely 12 months 26 days. He further submitted that the regulations prescribing minimum age criteria to be eligible to take the entrance test for admission to medical courses were formed 2 decades ago and are thereby, obsolete in today’s time when the students are more mature and advanced than the children two decades ago. 

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Advocate Tanoodbhav Singhdev, appearing on the behalf of the National Medical Commission and the Dental Council of India, informed the Bench that the impugned regulation was amended in 2018 wherein the issue of minimum age criteria was reconsidered. 

Rejecting the contention of the petitioner, the Bench refused to reduce the minimum age criteria for eligibility to take the NEET examination. The Bench underscored: “Primary role of the court is to interpret the law as it is, especially when the law is explicitly clear and unambiguous. The court is not concerned with the law as it ought to be.” The Bench opined that the cut-off age limit for taking the said examination is a policy decision by the concerned authorities, which cannot be interfered with. Accordingly, the petition was dismissed with a cost of Rs 10,000, which is directed to be deposited with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority within a period of four weeks, which is to be utilised for ‘Access to Justice’ program.  

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Filed by one Akash Yadav through his natural guardian Dr. Surendra Kumar Yadav, the plea alleges that Rule 4.1 of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, requiring the candidate to complete 17 years of age ‘on or before December 31 of the year of admission to MBBS’ so as to be eligible to appear in entrance test for MBBS program, is ultravires of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. There is a 13-month gap between the age of the petitioner and the minimum age criteria requirement for filling the application form for NEET-2021, due to which the petitioner was unable to fill the form.The petitioner made several representations to the concerned authorities highlighting the issue faced by him in filling the online application form; however, no action has been taken as yet. Reliance was placed on a recent decision of the Madras High Court, wherein the Court allowed a similarly placed candidate to appear for NEET-2021. 

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In light of the foregoing, the plea prays for amending the regulations, prescribing the qualifying age criteria for appearing in the NEET-UG medical entrance test, from 17 years to 15 years and bringing it on par with JEE entrance test conducted for UG engineering courses.The plea states thus: “Denial for Petitioner to fill the form for entrance examination for further/ higher education is violative of Fundamental Rights provided to citizens in the Constitution of India. It refrains the young aspirant, who is otherwise qualified to take the NEET examination but for the age bar created by the NTA in its online application form.”

On a previous occasion, the Bench of Justice Rekha Palli granted liberty to the petitioner to file a fresh petition challenging the Regulation 4(1) of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, which prohibit a candidate from appearing in the NEET exam unless he has attained the age of 17 years,.

A NEET-UG aspirant has moved the Delhi High Court seeking directions to amend the regulations with regard to the qualifying age for appearing in NEET-UG Medical Entrance Examination from 17 years to 15 years, bringing it on par with JEE-2021 for UG Engineering courses. The petitioner has also sought directions to allow him to sit in the entrance test (NEET-2021). 

The petition has been filed by a student who was unable to fill his online application form for NEET-UG as he couldn’t meet the minimum age requirement for the same. He had filed a petition before the Delhi High Court earlier but the court opined to challenged the Regulation 4.1 of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, on the basis of which, he was barred from filing the application form for appearing in NEET Exams 2021, as he had not attained the minimum age required to fill the same. After modifying the same, the petition has been filed again on August 11, 2021. 

The petition has been filed by one Akash Yadav, who is a minor through his uncle/local guardian Dr Surendra Kumar Yadav (Petitioner-in-Person), seeking directions to be allowed to fill online forms in order to sit for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test 2021.

There is a 13-month gap between the age of the petitioner and the minimum required age for filling the application form, which is 17 years for NEET-2021 exam candidates. 

During the hearing of matter before the Court, Dr Yadav informed that a Division Bench of Madras High Court in case of “Shree Harini vs Union of India & ors” had permitted a 16-year-old girl to sit for NEET 2021. He further submitted that the Judgement of the Division Bench of Madras High Court holds a persuasive value on the court and requested the court to similarly allow the petitioner to appear for NEET, 2021.

Advocate Tanoodbhav Singhdev, appearing on the behalf of the National Medical Commission and the Dental Council of India, argued that Regulation 4.1 of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 clearly stated that any NEET applicant must complete 17 years of age on or before December 31 of the year examination is conducted. He further informed the court that the said Regulation has been challenged numerous times and has been upheld.

“According to the Regulation 4.1 of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997: Admission to the Medical Course-Eligibility Criteria, no candidate shall be allowed to be admitted to the Medical Curriculum proper of first Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery course until he /she has qualified the National Eligibility Entrance Test, and he/she shall not be allowed to appear for the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test until he/she completes the age of 17 years on or before December 31 of the year of admission to the MBBS,” stated Singhdev. 

He relied upon the 2003 Writ Petition of Mohit Kumar vs Union of India & ors, where a Division Bench of Delhi High Court stated that the age restriction on PMT candidates was not arbitrary. He further placed reliance upon Gautam Kapoor vs State of Rajasthan, where a Full Bench of Rajasthan High Court had upheld the age restriction for medical aspirants and Ankit Chaturvedi vs Union of India, where Allahabad High Court had come to a similar conclusion.

The petitioner had completed his Class X examination in 2019 with 90.2 percent marks and Class XII examination in 2021 with 89 percent marks from the Central Board of Secondary Education.

The Delhi High Court today granted liberty to an NEET aspirant to withdraw his plea and challenge Regulation 4.1 of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, on the basis of which, he was barred from filing the application form for appearing in NEET Exams 2021, as he had not attained the minimum age required to fill the same.

The petition was filed by one Akash Yadav, who is a minor through his uncle/local guardian Dr Surendra Kumar Yadav (Petitioner-in-Person), seeking directions to be allowed to fill online forms in order to sit for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test 2021.

The petition was filed on August 4 and the last date of filling the application form was August 6, which was later extended till August 10. There is a 13-month gap between the age of the petitioner and the minimum required age for filling the application form, which is 17 years for NEET-2021 exam candidates. 

During the hearing today, Dr Yadav informed the court that a Division Bench of Madras High Court in case of Shree Harini vs Union of India & ors had permitted a 16-year-old girl to sit for NEET, 2021. He further submitted that the Judgement of the Division Bench of Madras High Court holds a persuasive value on the court and requested the court to similarly allow the petitioner to appear for NEET, 2021.

Advocate Tanoodbhav Singhdev, appearing on the behalf of the National Medical Commission and the Dental Council of India, argued that Regulation 4.1 of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997 clearly stated that any NEET applicant must complete 17 years of age on or before December 31 of the year examination is conducted. He further informed the court that the said Regulation has been challenged numerous times and has been upheld.

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“According to the Regulation 4.1 of the Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997: Admission to the Medical Course-Eligibility Criteria, no candidate shall be allowed to be admitted to the Medical Curriculum proper of first Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery course until he /she has qualified the National Eligibility Entrance Test, and he/she shall not be allowed to appear for the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test until he/she completes the age of 17 years on or before December 31 of the year of admission to the MBBS,”

-Mr Singhdev noted.

He relied upon the 2003 Writ Petition of Mohit Kumar vs Union of India & ors, where a Division Bench of Delhi High Court stated that the age restriction on PMT candidates was not arbitrary. He further placed reliance upon Gautam Kapoor vs State of Rajasthan, where a Full Bench of Rajasthan High Court had upheld the age restriction for medical aspirants and Ankit Chaturvedi vs Union of India, where Allahabad High Court had come to a similar conclusion.

The petitioner had completed his Class X examination in 2019 with 90.2 percent marks and Class XII examination in 2021 with 89 percent marks from the Central Board of Secondary Education.