BREAKING: NEET-UG Paper Leak Scam Hearing in SC Deferred to Friday

New Delhi: As the future of hundreds of students continues to hang in balance, the Supreme Court of India has adjourned the hearing in the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak to July 18.

The bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud noted that the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts this prestigious test, have filed their affidavits in compliance with the top court's July 8 order.

The bench, comprises Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed that advocates appearing for some of the petitioners have not yet received the affidavits filed by the Centre.

The apex court is hearing a batch of pleas related to the NEET-UG 2024 scam, including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 exam and seeking a direction for a re-test.

This comes as the NEET-UG paper leak controversy continues to brew, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed new details regarding the origins of the scandal. Contrary to earlier reports suggesting that Bihar was the source of the leak, the CBI's investigation has revealed that the initial breach occurred in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh.

It is to be noted that earlier, it was believed that the exam paper was first leaked in Bihar, leading to several arrests across the state.

NTA Denies Indication of Mass Malpractice

On Wednesday, the Centre told the apex court that there was neither any indication of "mass malpractice" nor a localised set of candidates benefitted leading to abnormal scores in the NEET-UG 20245 exam.

It said that the data analytics of results of NEET-UG 2024 was conducted by IIT Madras and as per the findings given by the institute's experts, the marks distribution follows the bell-shaped curve that is witnessed in any large-scale examination indicating 'no abnormality.'