[BREAKING] NEET Row | Supreme Court Refuses to Halt Counselling, Denies CBI Probe

The Supreme Court Today (June 19th) refused to pause the NEET counselling, also denying to pass an order for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities.

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Today declined to halt the ongoing NEET counseling and refused to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities in the examination process.

A bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta heard the pleas requesting a CBI investigation into the NEET case. The bench stated,

“There could be no CBI probe without hearing the other parties involved.”

The plea seeking a CBI probe into the case mentioned allegations of a paper leak and candidates being able to choose exam centers at their discretion. During the hearing, the court issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding four different pleas connected to the alleged irregularities in the exam results.

The court sought a response within two weeks, scheduling the next hearing for July 8.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court remarked,

“Even if there was ‘0.001 per cent negligence’ on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.”

The court emphasized that students put in significant effort while preparing for these examinations and stated,

“The litigation pertaining to the NEET Undergraduate-2024 examination ought not be treated as adversarial.”

The NTA, responsible for conducting the all-India pre-medical entrance test, is now required to respond to the grievances raised.

The bench was considering two separate petitions that included complaints about grace marks awarded to students in the examination held on May 5.

EARLIER IN APEX COURT

Amid rising concerns over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission into medical colleges, the Supreme Court yesterday issued a stern rebuke to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which administers the exam nationwide for aspiring medical students.

The Supreme Court emphasized the importance of absolute diligence, stating,

“If there’s even 0.001% negligence, it should be dealt with.”

The vacation bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice SVN Bhatti made the remark while hearing a petition seeking cancellation of the NEET exam held in May this year.

The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for July 8.

The Supreme Court asked Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) not to treat petitions concerning NEET-UG 2024 as adversarial litigation and said that if a mistake has been made, it is better to acknowledge and rectify it.

Last week, the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the grace marks previously awarded to 1,563 candidates in the NEET-UG exam would be rescinded, offering these candidates the option to retake the exam on June 23.

The court was assured that the results of the re-test would be announced before June 30. If any of these candidates chose not to retake the exam, their original scores would be reinstated without the additional marks.

The results for the medical entrance examination, which saw 24 lakh students participate on May 5, were declared on June 4. Shortly after, allegations of an exam paper leak surfaced, with 67 students achieving a perfect score of 720/720.

Grace marks had been given to several students purportedly to compensate for lost time at the exam center.

Student organizations have voiced strong protests over various alleged NEET irregularities, including the distribution of incorrect question papers, Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets being torn, and delays in distributing these sheets.

These allegations have led to widespread dissatisfaction and calls for greater accountability and transparency in the examination process.

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