The Supreme Court on Monday decided to hear a petition challenging the upper age limit for candidates appearing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, ANI reported. Students write the test to get seats in MBBS and BDS courses in colleges approved by the Medical Council of India or Dental Council of India.
The court issued notices to the Centre and the Medical Council of India. It will hear the case next on July 2.
In February, the Supreme Court rejected a similar petition filed by a group of students. Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao refused to interfere with the Central Board of Secondary Education’s notification that laid down upper-age limits for candidates appear for the test, but allowed the students to approach a High Court against the notification.
On May 11, the Delhi High Court dismissed the petitions. The High Court ruled that candidates from general category above 25 years and candidates from reserved categories older than 30 cannot appear for the exam. A petitioner named Tribhuvan Singh from Rajasthan then challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court, asking whether a candidate’s age has anything to do with their competence, calibre and merit, Live Lawreported.
