NEET Exam 2025: Supreme Court Panel Report Submission Deadline Ends Today

The deadline for the NEET panel to submit its report to the Supreme Court is set for today, Monday, November 4, 2024. This report is the outcome of work by a high-level committee of experts formed by the government following a paper leak incident during the NEET-UG examination. The Supreme Court had initially set a deadline of September 30 for the submission of the report. However, in its August 2 judgement, the Court, while declining to order a re-test, directed the committee to develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) for conducting the exams.

This SOP was to address key aspects like the registration timeline, change of exam centres, sealing of OMR sheets, and other examination processes to enhance transparency and prevent malpractices.

On October 21, the Supreme Court extended the deadline by two weeks, granting the panel until November 4 to finalise and submit its report. The extension was approved after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed a bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, that the report was nearly complete but required additional time for final touches.

The Union Ministry of Education established the seven-member expert committee on June 26, 2024, following a directive from the Supreme Court for measures to safeguard the integrity of future NEET exams. Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, a former ISRO Chairman and the current Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT Kanpur, was appointed to lead the committee. The mandate for this committee included making recommendations to ensure that the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts exams in a smooth, fair, and transparent manner.

The government’s move to form the committee came after the Supreme Court, in a detailed ruling, instructed it to outline the steps being taken to maintain the sanctity of the NEET exams. Following the submission of the report, the Union Ministry of Education is expected to review the recommendations and make decisions within one month.