NEET-UG 2024 Verdict: Supreme Court to Announce Detailed Judgment on Exam Cancellation Plea Today

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India is set to release its detailed judgment on Friday, explaining its decision not to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 examination. This follows the court's earlier rejection of a plea for a re-test on July 23. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had emphasized the significant repercussions of conducting a fresh exam, noting that it would impact over 24 lakh students who had already taken the test. He highlighted that such a move would disrupt the admission schedule and cause cascading effects on the medical entrance exam and its subsequent counselling process.

Click here to read what the Supreme Court ordered.

CBI Files First Chargesheet Against 13

Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has intensified its probe into alleged irregularities surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 examination. On Thursday, the CBI filed its first chargesheet, charging 13 individuals under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 380 (theft in dwelling house), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), 420 (cheating), and 109 (abetment).

Names Of NEET Paper Leak Accused 

The chargesheet names the following accused: Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand, Sikander Yadvendu, Ashutosh Kumar-1, Roshan Kumar, Manish Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar-2, Akhilesh Kumar, Avdesh Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Shivnandan Kumar, and Ayush Raj. The case was initially registered at Shastri Nagar Police Station in Patna and later transferred to the CBI on June 23. To date, the CBI has arrested 40 individuals, including 15 apprehended by Bihar Police, and conducted searches at 58 locations.

Last week, the CBI revealed in an official statement that the NEET-UG 2024 question paper was illicitly accessed from the Oasis School in Hazaribagh on the morning of May 5. The key figure behind this act was identified as Pankaj Kumar, also known as Aditya or Sahil, who is one of the masterminds in the case. The theft was reportedly carried out with the connivance of the Hazaribagh NTA City Coordinator cum Principal of Oasis School and the Centre Superintendent cum Vice Principal of the same institution.

The investigation is ongoing, with several other suspects already in police or judicial custody. The CBI has stated that supplementary chargesheets will be filed as further investigation into these suspects and other aspects of the case progresses.