NEET age limit: HC seeks response from Centre, MCI, CBSE

Lucknow: The Allahabad high court today sought reply from the Medical Council of India (MCI), the Centre and the CBSE by February 20 on the procedure adopted for setting of the upper age limit for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2017.

This order was passed by a division bench in Lucknow comprising justices Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Sanjay Harkauli on two writ petitions filed by Navaneet Tripathi and 22 others.

The petitions raised a common question relating to the issue of upper age limit of 25 years prescribed for NEET, 2017, scheduled to be conducted on May 7.

The contention on behalf of the petitioners was that the said upper age limit is not supported by any appropriate regulation or procedure prescribed by the regulations framed under the MCI Act.

It was also submitted that the introduction of this upper age limit, which was not there earlier, being not in conformity with law, deserves to be struck down.

The counsels for the Centre and the MCI produced some documents related to prescribing upper age limit in NEET.

“In view of the aforsaid documents that have been placed before the Court, the stand of the Medical Council of India as well as that of the Union government has to be brought on record by way of an affidavit as to what was the procedure adopted for the purpose of fixing the upper age limit of 25 years for NEET examination,” the court said.

Terming it as an urgent matter, the court expected that the Centre and the MCI both shall file their counter affidavits (reply) on this issue by February 20, the next date of hearing, as the matter requires an immediate disposal.

The court also directed the counsel for Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which will be conducting the exam, to file a response.

As per regulations framed under the Indian Medical Council Act-1956 as amended in 2016 and the Dentists Act-1948 as amended in 2016, NEET 2017 will be conducted by CBSE for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in colleges run with the approval of MCI and Dental Council of India.