The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test - Master of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS 2024), slated for March 18, 2024, will proceed as scheduled after the Supreme Court dismissed a plea to postpone it. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud-led bench declined the petition filed by dentists, citing its last-minute submission.

According to the outlet, the CJI highlighted that approximately 28,000 medical aspirants are set to take the examination, and the petitioners submitted their application at the eleventh hour. Originally, the petitioners sought an extension of the March 31, 2024 deadline for completing their internship to qualify for NEET-MDS.

The court noted that the issue had been addressed as the government had already extended the internship deadline to June 30. An official notification by NBEMS stated, "Desirous candidates who are completing their internship during 01.04.2024 to 30.06.2024 and are fulfilling all other criteria as prescribed in the Information Bulletin of NEET-MDS 2024 can apply for NEET-MDS 2024.

Subsequent to this ruling, the registration for the exam was made available for a limited period of three days, from March 9 to March 11. Approximately 568 candidates completed their registrations and thus became eligible to participate in the upcoming examination.

Previously, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) addressed a letter to Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, requesting the rescheduling of the NEET MDS -2024 exam. According to news agency ANI, the FORDA team of doctors urged the minister to take their plea into consideration. Their request aimed to address the issue of ineligibility and provide a fair opportunity to aspirants.

Medical aspirants filed a petition urging the Supreme Court to direct the National Medical Commission (NMC) to postpone the NEET MDS 2024 exam to July and extend the internship cut-off date. The NEET MDS 2024 exam is scheduled for March 18.