The Supreme Court on Thursday raised significant concerns regarding the NEET-UG 2024 examination after hearing multiple petitions demanding either a re-test or the cancellation of the exam. The court scrutinized the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) and the Centre’s claim that a question paper leak occurred only 45 minutes before the start of the exam at certain centers.
Held on May 5, the NEET-UG 2024 exam, attended by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical students, has been mired in controversy due to allegations of leaked question papers and improper allocation of ‘grace marks.’
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the NTA, stated that a CBI investigation found that at a center in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, unauthorized photographs of the question papers were taken between 8 AM and 9:20 AM on the exam day. He emphasized that the CBI has been actively investigating the case.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, leading the bench that included Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, expressed skepticism over the claim that the entire paper could be solved in just 45 minutes before the exam started at 10:15 AM. Mehta responded that the alleged gang involved had seven members who divided the questions among themselves to expedite the process.
“Whole hypothesis that within 45 minutes there was a breach and the entire paper was solved and given to students seems very far-fetched,” Chief Justice Chandrachud remarked.
Exam Body’s Defence In Supreme Court NEET Case
The petitioners’ lawyer, Senior Advocate Narender Hooda, vehemently called for the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam, citing “systemic failure” in its administration. He alleged that the transportation of the question papers was compromised, with the papers in the custody of a private courier company for six days in Hazaribagh. Hooda claimed the papers were even transported in an e-rickshaw to an exam center, whose principal was later arrested for involvement in the racket.
Solicitor General Mehta refuted the allegations of a widespread leak, asserting that the CBI had meticulously tracked the chain of custody “from printer to center,” emphasizing a seven-layer security system in place.
“How the sealing happened… how GPS tracking happened… There is a seven-layer security system,” he told the court.
“Mr Solicitor… did you engage a private courier company to dispatch the NEET papers?” The court had asked Mehta.
NEET-UG Re-Test Only If “Sanctity” Lost
The Supreme Court emphasized that a re-test would only be ordered if it was demonstrated that the “sanctity” of the May 5 exam was compromised on a large scale due to the leaked questions. Chief Justice Chandrachud stated, “You have to show us that the leak was systematic… that it affected the entire examination… so as to warrant cancellation of the entire exam…”
The controversy surrounding NEET-UG 2024 erupted last month with allegations of a question paper leak orchestrated by a national ‘solver gang’ network. Red flags were raised due to an unusually high number of perfect scores, with 67 students scoring the maximum 720, including six from a single coaching center. Additionally, the awarding of ‘grace marks’ to 1,563 students, which is not part of the official exam protocol, further fueled the controversy.
In an affidavit filed last week, the government, citing an analysis by IIT Madras, insisted there was no indication of “mass malpractice” or evidence that certain candidates had benefitted from cheating.
As the Supreme Court concluded the day’s arguments, it scheduled the next hearing for July 22.
