NEET-UG Counselling Postponed 

The counselling for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET UG was on Saturday deferred until further notice. The new date for the counselling was yet to be announced.

Sources said that the exam authorities want to wait for a court hearing in the case, which is scheduled for July 8. The development comes amid allegations of irregularities, including of paper leak, in the NEET exam.

Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court refused to defer the counselling for the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024 examination, stating that it is not an "open and shut" process. The top court issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Centre, and others on a petition seeking cancellation of the exam over alleged irregularities in holding it on May 5.

A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti posted the matter for hearing on July 8, along with other pending pleas alleging irregularities in the conduct of the examination. The counsel appeared for the petitioners urged the bench to pause the counselling process for two days, as the top court is scheduled to hear all these pleas on July 8.

Moments after the counseling-related announcement, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the future of lakhs of students is unsafe in the hands of BJP leaders. "The whole NEET-UG issue is getting worse by the day. The non-biological PM and his biological Education Minister are adding further proof to their demonstrated incompetence and insensitivity," he said in an X post.