Today, On 22nd July, Petitioners urged the Supreme Court of India to mandate a re-exam for all qualified candidates of NEET 2024 due to a paper leak controversy. The demand for a re-exam stems from concerns over the integrity of the examination process.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India is hearing pleas regarding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG today. The hearing, which will address issues ranging from the cancellation of the exam to discrepancies and an alleged paper leak.
A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, will preside over the NEET-related matters, with the aim of concluding the proceedings by noon.
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On July 18, the Supreme Court directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to release center-wise and city-wise results of all NEET UG candidates by Saturday. Following this directive, the NTA published these detailed results. Students approached the Supreme Court after the NEET UG 2024 results announced on June 4, which was ten days ahead of the scheduled release date.
The early declaration of results quickly sparked controversies, with many raising concerns about the unusually high number of students scoring a perfect 720 out of 720. Additionally, the awarding of grace marks to some students led to further disputes, as the majority of the student population did not accept this decision. Subsequently, the grace marks were retracted, and a re-test was conducted for 1,563 candidates.
The results of the re-test also declared, but students and parents continued to voice concerns about numerous discrepancies.
In previous hearings, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the NEET UG paper indeed leaked in Bihar. However, the decision to cancel the NEET exam is still under consideration as the extent of the leak is being evaluated.
The court instructed IIT Madras to conduct a data analysis to determine whether the NEET results indicated any mass malpractice. The report submitted by IIT Madras ruled out widespread malpractice, but the petitioners have questioned the report’s accuracy, suggesting potential bias due to the IIT Madras Director’s membership in the NTA’s Governing Council.
The NTA asserted that the paper leak was contained and that the results were within expected parameters. They also noted that the re-test and the removal of grace marks helped balance the scores. The higher cut-offs for this year’s NEET UG results attributed to a reduced syllabus for the undergraduate medical and dental entrance examinations.
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The Supreme Court stated that the NEET UG examination will only be cancelled if it is determined that the paper leak was extensive. In a previous hearing, the court reviewed the petitioners’ arguments and directed the NTA to release more detailed results.
The Supreme Court will continue its hearing today regarding the NEET UG Result 2024 pleas. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud requested conclusive evidence and expressed the court’s intention to finalize the proceedings today. Stay updated with live reports as the bench resumes deliberations on the NEET UG 2024 case.