Today, On 16th May, The Supreme Court refused to stay the NEET results despite allegations of a question paper leak. The court’s decision allows the results to be released as scheduled. Concerns over the integrity of the exam raised, but the court opted not to intervene.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, On Friday, of India dismissed a request to postpone the release of the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2024. NEET a pre-medical entrance examination for students aspiring to gain admission to both government and private medical colleges in India. The plea to conduct a re examination made due to allegations of question paper leak during this year’s test.
A panel consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra stated that they could not suspend a nationwide examination. However, they did issue a notice to the Central government regarding the plea and requested its response.
The Court observed,
“We will address it after the summer break, but we cannot stay the results of an all-India exam.”
Advocate Sunny Kadian filed the petition on behalf of Vanshika Yadav. The plea highlighted that during the NEET undergraduate examination in Rajasthan, various national newspapers reported the leak of the question paper prior to the scheduled test date.
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Additionally, it mentioned that incorrect question papers provided to the candidates, resulting in confusion and disorder.
The plea alleged,
“More concerning incidents have been observed in Patna, Bihar, where numerous individuals have been apprehended by the State police based on credible information that they received the question paper a day before the examination.”
The Economic and Cyber Crimes Division in Bihar and Patna assumed control of the inquiry and determined that there prima facie evidence of an organized gang behind the question paper leak. As a result of the investigation, 13 individuals apprehended and subsequently remanded in judicial custody.
The seriousness of the situation is underscored by several news reports suggesting the involvement of a mastermind in the question paper leak operation, allegedly procuring the NEET question paper for a substantial sum of Rs. 60 crore in Uttar Pradesh, according to the plea.
Furthermore, it asserted that the leakage raises significant concerns regarding the adequacy of security measures implemented to safeguard the integrity of the examination process.
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The petition pointed out,
“In a similar situation involving a widespread paper leak of the All India Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Entrance Test, 2015, this Hon’ble Court in the case of Tanvi Sarwal v. Central Board of Secondary Education & Ors. (2015) 6 SCC 573, cancelled the examination, directed the CBSE to conduct a fresh examination within four weeks, and further instructed the investigation agencies to expedite the investigation process.”
The petitioner, a candidate aspiring to pursue medical sciences, represented by advocates Sumit Kumar Sharma, Rajat Sangwan, and Vaibhav Yadav during the court proceedings.
The petitioner had taken the NEET examination this year.