A Supreme Court judge, Justice L Nageshwara Rao, on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the pleas challenging the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) ordinance, which allowed states to continue with their separate entrance tests for MBBS and BDS courses for the academic year 2016-17.
A bunch of pleas listed for hearing before the Bench of Justices AR Dave and L Nageshwara Rao was adjourned for July 15, after the latter sought recusal from hearing the matter. Earlier, a Vacation Bench of the Apex Court had refused to accord urgent hearing and directed the matter to be listed before a regular Bench, which was seized of the matter.
Petitioner Anand Rai, who also claims to be a whistle blower in the Vyapam scam, had contended that the government was not competent to nullify the judicial order by promulgating the ordinance.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had told the court that the ordinance, which keeps state boards outside the purview of single medical entrance test NEET, is only for this academic year and the government was well within its right to come up with it.
States such as Tamil Nadu, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, which conduct separate tests in their respective vernacular languages, had demanded this practice to be continued for the present academic session only, keeping the interests of students in mind, Rohatgi had said, adding that NEET question papers are either in English or in Hindi.
Rai in his plea had sought quashing of the ordinance, which had got Presidential assent on May 24, and sought a stay on the operation of the ordinance as an interim relief.
Referring to Centre’s stand to support the single-window NEET for admissions to MBBS and dental courses, the plea said the government had now taken a “complete U-turn”, which showed “mala fide and ill intent towards the process of admission of students who shall suffer the most”.
Meanwhile, NGO Sankalp Charitable Trust, which had earlier moved the Apex Court in support of NEET, had also filed a fresh plea, challenging the ordinance.