The Supreme Court has acknowledged that all open schools recognized by the CBSE and State Education Boards will now be accepted by the National Medical Council (NMC) for NEET eligibility.
This development means that students who have completed their 10+2 education from open schools will now qualify to take the examination. Previously, the proviso to Regulation 4(2)(a) of the Medical Council of India Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, prevented these candidates from participating in the exams.
In 2018, the Delhi High Court declared the proviso unconstitutional. Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar criticized the Medical Council’s assumption that students who cannot attend regular schools due to financial or social reasons are inferior or less deserving. The court stated that such presumptions go against the constitutional ethos and violate both Article 14 and the right to acquire a professional degree.
Displeased with this ruling, the medical council had filed the current appeal.
The case was presented before Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar. During the hearing, the respondent’s counsel mentioned a letter dated November 2, 2023, from the Undergraduate Medical Education Board of the NMC. The letter stated that all open schools recognized by the CBSE and State Education Boards would be acknowledged by the NMC for NEET recognition.
additionally, the court was made aware of a public notice issued by the board on the same date. According to the notice, the National Medical Commission has formulated the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, which were officially notified on June 2, 2023.
Regulation 11(b) is crucial, stating that candidates who have passed 10+2 with the required subjects are eligible to appear for NEET-UG. Consequently, the previous 1997 regulations were repealed prospectively.
The public notice stated, “The National Medical Commission has formulated the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, as notified on June 2, 2023. Regulation 11(b) specifies that candidates who have passed 10+2 or its equivalent with Physics, Chemistry, Biology/Biotechnology, and English are eligible to appear for NEET-UG. Consequently, with the enactment of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 2023, the previous Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997, along with their amendments, are repealed prospectively.”
