Will Supreme Court scrap NEET-UG exam after reading responses filed by Centre, NTA?
Even as the nation waits with bated breath the outcome of the legal proceedings, the Supreme Court on Friday (July 11, 2024) deferred the hearing on petitions seeking the scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 exam due to alleged paper leaks and other malpractices to July 18.
The three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, stated that the Union of India and the National Testing Agency (NTA) had filed their response, but some advocates had not received the e-copies. To allow all parties time to review the responses, the matter has been postponed.
The Centre and the NTA have both firmly denied any widespread malpractice. The Centre, citing a technical analysis by experts from IIT-Madras, argued there was no evidence of mass cheating or localised benefits to specific candidates. The NTA also refuted claims of leaked question papers circulating on Telegram, calling the videos fake and manipulated.
In its affidavit, the Union Ministry of Education stated there was a “very less likelihood of mass malpractice,” noting an increase in high scores across various cities and centres, attributed to a 25% reduction in the syllabus rather than fraudulent activity.
The Centre emphasised that candidates achieving high marks were distributed widely, undermining the argument for localized cheating.
Both the Centre and the NTA opposed the cancellation of the exam.
The Centre argued that scrapping the entire examination would unfairly harm honest candidates who followed the rules, while the NTA warned that cancelling the exam would be detrimental to the public interest and the career prospects of qualified candidates.
The NEET-UG 2024 exam, held on May 5, saw around 24 lakh students across 4,750 centres in 511 cities and 14 international locations. The test is crucial for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in over 700 government and private institutions, filling 1.08 lakh seats.
Amid the allegations, the Supreme Court highlighted several ‘red flags’ and indicated it would consider ordering a re-test if widespread irregularities were proven. The Bench has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit a status report on its investigation into the alleged paper leak.
