BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh): The students of bachelor of dental surgery (BDS) course have filed a petition in High Court, Jabalpur, challenging the exclusion of more than 1,000 students of Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University (MPMSU) in NEET MDS 2022 examination.

The petitioners have demanded that students who could not complete internship before March 31, 2022, should be allowed to appear in NEET MDS 2022 examination.

Advocate Prashant Manchanda, who appeared on behalf of petitioners, cited administrative precedents wherein the cut-off date in different medical examinations was relaxed in view of hardships ensued by Covid-19. Such relaxation has been given to MBBS students who are appearing in NEET-PG examinations.

As per petition, MPMSU, which conducted examination of final year BDS students in February 2021, failed to declare results on time, that is, before March 31, 2021.

The results were declared on June 1, 2021, and the 12-month compulsory rotary internship of the students could start only on June 2, 2021. However, the NBEMS, the body which conducts NEET for various medical postgraduate courses including dental as NEET MDS 2022, issued an information bulletin in 2022.

The bulletin prescribes March 31, 2022, as the cut-off date for completing the mandatory 12-month internship so as to be eligible for NEET MDS 2022.

This means that the students of MPMSU have to suffer for no fault of theirs and are excluded from the eligibility as their internships cannot be completed before May 31, 2022.

Their internship began two months late as university declared results late. The students made representations to authorities including vice chancellor of Madhya Pradesh Medical Sciences University, Dental Council of India, Directorate of Medical Education but to no avail.