The matter come under judicial scrutiny due to serious concerns raised about the way NEET-UG 2024 was conducted by the NTA.
New Delhi: Today, 7th April: The Supreme Court of India has officially closed the case regarding the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in conducting the NEET-UG 2024 examination.
The decision came after the Central Government assured the court that it would implement the recommendations suggested by an expert panel formed to look into the matter.
A bench of the Supreme Court, consisting of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, considered the Centre’s compliance reports and heard the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
The bench noted that the government had accepted almost all suggestions made by the expert committee. Based on this, the plea was disposed of.
Tushar Mehta informed the bench,
“Over 26 lakh students take up NEET across India and the government will have to ascertain availability of internet and computers… this will take some time,”
He added,
“but the report has been accepted”.
Further, Mehta said,
“Nothing survived in the case and it can be disposed of,” acknowledging that there was no longer any issue that needed further legal attention.
The Supreme Court agreed with this and observed that, “no further order was required” since the government had accepted and committed to the exam reforms.
The matter had come under judicial scrutiny due to serious concerns raised about the way NEET-UG 2024 was conducted by the NTA.
On August 2, 2024, the Supreme Court had refused to cancel the examination, stating there was no adequate proof of a systemic leak or malpractice that compromised the integrity of the exam.
However, the court took those concerns seriously and widened the scope of a seven-member expert panel that was already formed to suggest reforms.
This committee was headed by former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, and included respected figures like Randeep Guleria, B J Rao, Ramamurthy K, Pankaj Bansal, Aditya Mittal, and Govind Jaiswal.
The Supreme Court had asked the committee to examine the functioning of the NTA and propose reforms to make the NEET-UG exam more secure, transparent, and free from cheating or mismanagement. The panel’s responsibilities were expanded to include:
- Examination security and administration
- Data security
- Technological upgrades
- Mental health support for students
- Training of NTA staff
- Policy engagement
- Stakeholder collaboration
- International cooperation
The panel was also asked to look into serious lapses that had occurred during the exam, including:
- A security breach at a centre in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, where unauthorized persons accessed the question papers through the rear door of the strongroom
- Use of e-rickshaws for transporting question papers
- Distribution of wrong sets of question papers to students
On January 2, 2025, Tushar Mehta informed the court that the Centre-appointed committee had submitted its final report and confirmed that the government was ready to implement all of the panel’s recommendations.
On October 21, 2024, the court had extended the deadline for the expert committee to finish and file its report on exam reforms.
Although the committee had suggested conducting the NEET-UG exam in online mode in the future, the government decided to delay this particular recommendation. It cited the large number of students and infrastructure issues as the reason.
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To quote Mehta again: “Over 26 lakh students take up NEET across India and the government will have to ascertain availability of internet and computers… this will take some time,” and added, “but the report has been accepted”.
As the Centre had accepted all the reforms, except conducting the NEET exam online for now, the Supreme Court was satisfied with the progress. It stated there was no need for any more legal action or orders.
Earlier in November 2024, the Supreme Court had also dismissed a review petition which sought a fresh NEET-UG 2024 exam, reaffirming its August 2 decision.
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