The CJI directed petitioners’ counsels to file a common submission (not exceeding 10 pages) and stressed that a retest would be a last resort. The next hearing is scheduled for July 18.
![[Breaking] NEET-UG 2024 Case: Supreme Court to Hear Matter on July 18](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/shared-image-1.jpeg?resize=820%2C465&ssl=1)
NEW DELHI: Today (11th July): The NEET-UG 2024, conducted on May 5 for 23.33 lakh students across 4,750 centers in 571 cities (including 14 overseas cities), released its results on June 4. Following this, reports of a paper leak emerged on social media due to a high number of toppers.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, has scheduled a hearing for July 18, Thursday, due to some parties needing time to review replies filed by the Central government and the National Testing Agency (NTA).
“NTA and Union have submitted replies. Some counsel have not received e-copies of the replies. To allow parties to review these replies, further hearing is scheduled for July 18, Thursday,”
the Court stated.
The CBI is investigating six individuals related to the case. Several aspirants filed petitions regarding these alleged leaks and exam irregularities, demanding a re-exam.
Though the bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud initially proposed to list the matters on next Monday (July 15), Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta cited a personal difficulty.
SG stated that both he and the Attorney General won’t be available on Monday and Tuesday. Considering that next Wednesday is a holiday (owing to Muharram), the Court then posted the matters to next Thursday.
On July 8, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud noted that the sanctity of the exam is compromised, and the extent of the leak will determine if the May 5 exam should be canceled.
The CJI directed petitioners’ counsels to file a common submission (not exceeding 10 pages) and stressed that a retest would be a last resort.
Earlier, the Court directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to address various queries raised during the hearing regarding petitions alleging malpractices and paper leaks in the NEET-UG, 2024 exam.
Numerous petitions, including those involving Alakh Pandey, also known as Physics Wallah, have been filed seeking cancellation of the exams. During the proceedings, the Court issued notices and consolidated all related matters for the NTA’s response.
These considerations are pivotal as the court deliberates on the petitions concerning malpractices and alleged paper leaks in the NEET-UG, 2024 exam.
The NTA responded to the allegations surrounding NEET-UG, 2024, explaining that the candidates scoring full marks benefited from a syllabus reduction aimed at reducing exam pressure. They emphasized that only a small number of candidates were implicated in the alleged paper leak, suggesting that cancelling the exam would be counterproductive.
The Supreme Court has also been addressing petitions seeking CBI and ED investigations into the matter. Earlier, on June 20, 2024, the Court stayed proceedings in multiple petitions filed across Rajasthan, Calcutta, and Bombay High Courts.
The Central government and the NTA argue against canceling the exam or holding a re-examination, citing a lack of evidence for large-scale confidentiality breaches.
An affidavit filed by the Central Government on Wednesday stated that data analytics conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on the NEET undergraduate 2024 results showed no abnormalities, indicating a low likelihood of malpractice.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that IIT Madras performed an extensive technical evaluation of the NEET(UG) 2024 data, using parameters such as marks distribution among candidates and city-wise and center-wise rank distribution.
The NTA supported this view, emphasizing that a video purportedly showing a mass paper leak on May 5 was edited to create a false impression of an early leak.
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