Today(on 21st June),The Supreme Court refused to stay the NEET-UG 2024 counseling process but issued a notice to the NTA, scheduling a consolidated hearing for July 8 by tagging new pleas with pending ones. Earlier, it had stayed proceedings in three high courts regarding challenges to the conduct of NEET-UG 2024.
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NEW DELHI: Today(on 21st June), The Supreme Court once again declined to stay the NEET-UG 2024 counseling process, while issuing a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA). According to a report, the top court has tagged fresh pleas along with pending petitions, scheduling them for a hearing on July 8.
On Thursday, the apex court had already stayed proceedings in three high courts that were hearing petitions challenging the conduct of the National Eligibility Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024. These petitions also called for an independent probe into alleged malpractices, including a paper leak and the awarding of grace marks.
A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti presided over these matters. They issued notices on four transfer petitions submitted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), alongside 11 other petitions raising similar concerns.
On Friday, Delhi Congress workers staged a protest near the BJP headquarters over allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar and other irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examinations. The protest was led by Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav.
The NTA conducted the NEET-UG medical entrance examination on May 5 and announced the results on June 4. Approximately 24 lakh students appeared for the exam, which has since been mired in controversy due to allegations of question paper leaks and irregularities.
Remarkably, 67 students secured All-India Rank 1, an unprecedented occurrence in the history of the NTA. This led to widespread concerns about the integrity of the exam amid reports of paper leaks and the distribution of grace marks. Following the declaration of the results, protests erupted across various Indian cities, and multiple petitions were filed in high courts and the Supreme Court.
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In a significant development, one of the accused, Anurag Yadav, arrested by Patna Police, confessed to his involvement in the NEET exam question paper leak case. The police apprehended four individuals: Anurag Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand, and Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu.
While the first three are NEET aspirants, Sikandar Yadavendu, an engineer at Bihar’s Danapur Town Council (Danapur Nagar Parishad), is Anurag Yadav’s uncle.
Despite the growing controversy, the Supreme Court refused to halt the NEET-UG 2024 counseling process. The court has tagged the fresh pleas with pending petitions, setting a hearing date for July 8.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court had already put on hold proceedings in three high courts that were considering petitions challenging the NEET-UG 2024’s conduct. These petitions sought an independent investigation into alleged malpractices, such as paper leaks and the awarding of grace marks.
Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti issued notices on four transfer petitions filed by the NTA, the agency responsible for conducting NEET-UG, along with 11 other petitions raising similar issues. The court has scheduled these matters for a hearing on July 8.
Last week, the Supreme Court had declined to stay the counseling process, underscoring the need to address any negligence thoroughly.
The court stated-
“Even the slightest negligence, amounting to 0.001%, must be thoroughly addressed.”
The NEET-UG exam was conducted on May 5, with results announced earlier this month. Following the results, where over 60 students scored full marks, there were allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the exam. There was also significant uproar over the grace marks awarded to some students. Amid the protests, the NTA directed over 1500 medical aspirants to retake the exam.
In response to the controversy, after the UGC-NET paper leak led to the exam’s cancellation, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that a panel had been formed to recommend reforms in the NTA.
He stated-
“The government plans to establish a high-level committee to oversee reforms within the NTA. This committee will be tasked with recommending enhancements to NTA’s structure, operations, examination processes, transparency, and data security protocols. Our commitment is to ensure error-free testing. The panel, which will include global experts, will be announced soon.”
ALSO READ:NEET-UG 2024 | Supreme Court to Hear Petition on NEET Exam Cancellation Today
