STAFF REPORTER
A review petition has been filed before the Supreme Court by ministers from six non-BJP-ruled states challenging an August 17 order of the apex court which had allowed the central government to hold NEET and JEE in September.
The review petitioners stated that the Supreme Court, in its August 17 order, failed to consider the safety and security of students who are slated to appear for NEET and JEE and also failed to take into account the logistical difficulties in conducting the examinations. The six ministers who have filed the petition yesterday are Moloy Ghatak (West Bengal), Dr. Rameshwar Oraon (Jharkhand), Dr. Raghu Sharma (Rajasthan), Amarjeet Bhagat (Chhattisgarh), Balbir Singh Sidhu (Punjab) and Uday Ravindra Samant (Maharashtra).
NEET for students seeking admission to medical and dental courses is scheduled to be held on September 13 and the JEE for those aspiring to join top engineering colleges is scheduled to be conducted from September 1 to 6.
A three-judge bench headed by justice Arun Mishra had, on August 17, rejected a plea filed in August by 11 NEET/JEE candidates seeking postponement of the exams until after the Covid-19 crisis has passed.