The Supreme Court issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) in response to a petition filed by a learning app, alleging exam rigging in the recent NEET-UG exams. The NTA has been directed to respond by July 8, with a hearing scheduled for that date.
![[NEET-UG 2024] Supreme Court Issued Notice To Exam Body Over Alleged "Inconsistent Marks"](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image-17-1.png?resize=595%2C350&ssl=1)
NEW DELHI: Today (27th June): The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) in response to a petition filed by a learning app, alleging exam rigging in the recent NEET-UG exams. The NTA has been directed to respond by July 8, with a hearing scheduled for that date.
READ ALSO: [NTA vs. NEET Candidate] Delhi HC Seeks NTA’s Response on Grace Marks Petition
The petition raises concerns about the integrity of the NEET-UG exam conducted on May 5. The results, announced on June 4, have sparked controversy due to allegations of irregularities and malpractice. According to the petitioners, more than 1,500 students received grace marks, significantly affecting exam rankings and fairness.
Apart from the Supreme Court’s involvement, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating multiple cases related to alleged paper leaks and exam rigging. This investigation, spanning several states, has already resulted in interrogations and arrests.
READ ALSO: [NEET Result Controversy] HC Orders NTA to Produce Original OMR Sheet of Student
The petitioners, including a coaching center and students, have emphasized the right of students to access their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.
The Supreme Court will hear this matter on July 8 alongside other NEET-related cases, including NTA’s plea to consolidate cases from various High Courts.
Earlier, on June 20, the Supreme Court stayed NEET-related proceedings in High Courts, issuing notices and consolidating cases. It had previously directed the NTA to respond to allegations of leaked NEET UG papers and decided not to disrupt counselling for medical college admissions despite concerns raised by candidates over irregularities in score adjustments and perfect scores reported in the results released on June 4.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra had earlier declined to stay the publication of NEET UG results on May 17.
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.
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.
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.
