Shafaqna India : Amid allegations of paper leaks and other irregularities, the Supreme Court is set to hear petitions on Monday seeking the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 examination held on May 5 and the conduct of a fresh exam.
There are two sets of petitions before the bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra. One set, including a petition filed by 56 successful medical aspirants from Gujarat, seeks to prevent the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) from ordering a re-test.
The Supreme Court has declined to stay the counselling process for successful candidates seeking admissions to MBBS, BDS, and other courses. The Union Health Ministry clarified on Saturday that NEET-UG counselling has not been postponed and is scheduled to commence in the third week of July, following the issuance of permission letters to some medical colleges and potential addition of seats.
Both the Centre and the NTA have opposed the scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 exam. In affidavits filed with the Supreme Court, the Centre emphasized that cancelling the entire examination would unfairly disadvantage lakhs of honest candidates who took the test without any unfair means. They argued that there was no substantial evidence of widespread confidentiality breaches across the national examination, making cancellation unjustified.
Similarly, the NTA argued against cancellation, stating that it would be detrimental to the larger public interest and the career prospects of qualified candidates. They highlighted that over 24 lakh students appeared for the NEET-UG 2024 exam across numerous centres in India and abroad.
The controversy around NEET-UG 2024 intensified after 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720 out of 720, with suspicions of malpractice arising due to identical roll number sequences among top-ranked candidates from specific examination centres in states like Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar.
Protests erupted in Delhi on June 10, demanding a thorough investigation into alleged irregularities, particularly regarding the distribution of grace marks that resulted in multiple students sharing the top rank.
Following concerns, the CBI took over the investigation into the alleged paper leak and subsequent irregularities. The Supreme Court had earlier stressed the importance of addressing even minimal negligence in the conduct of examinations.
As a response to the concerns raised, the NTA scrapped grace marks awarded due to time loss for 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates and provided them with an opportunity to reappear for the exam on June 23. Subsequently, revised results were announced with the number of candidates sharing the top rank reduced to 61 from the initial 67.
The hearing on Monday will likely focus on these contentious issues surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 examination and its aftermath.
