NEET UG row: SC says no systemic failure, calls out NTA for 'flip flopping'

Leak of NEET-UG 2024 papers limited to Patna, Hazaribagh: SC

Pronouncing its judgment in a bunch of petitions seeking cancellation and re-conduct of NEET UG 2024, the Supreme Court said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) must not 'flip flop' with respect to paper leaks, distribution of wrong question papers and awarding marks for wrong questions.

"This flip-flopping does not really serve the purpose," Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said, pronouncing the judgment.

Reiterating that there was no systemic breach in the conduct of examination beyond Patna and Hazaribagh, the court stipulated additional remit for the high-level committee appointed by the central government. The court asked the committee to formulate standard operation procedure to enhance examination security.

On July 23, the apex court declined the request for a reconduct of the examination. The court observed that there are no conclusive evidence to call for a re-test.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the matter. The bench noted that there were no systemic deficiencies that warranted a retest for 24 lakh candidates.

"At present stage there is an absence of material on record to lead to a conclusion on whether there is a systematic breach to the sanctity of examination. The data which is produced by National Testing Agency (NTA) both city wise and centre wise is not indicative of any systemic leak of the question paper which is indicative of destruction of the sanctity of exams," the bench held.

The court said that if the investigation reveals that more people benefitted of the paper leak, action can be pursued against them at any stage notwithstanding conclusion of the counselling process.

In June 2024, reports surfaced that the NEET UG 2024 question paper was leaked prior to the exam, leading to suspicions of an unfair advantage for some candidates. This breach in exam integrity cast doubts on the overall fairness of the results. Some even raised eyebrows over NTA declaring the results 10 days in advance. The results were declared on June 4, coinciding with the Lok Sabha election counting.

The test has been marred by allegations of paper leak and discrepancies in marking. Aspirants have claimed that an unusually high number of 67 students got a perfect score. The government’s decision to award grace marks to 1,563 candidates, who lost out on time due to the wrong question paper being handed to them, also raised eyebrows. The decision was later withdrawn.