If Govt Does Not Cancel Exam, What Will it Do to Identify Beneficiaries: SC on NEET- UG

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, while hearing the NEET-UG 2024 case, asked the Centre that assuming that the government does not cancel the exam, what will it do if it identifies beneficiaries of question paper leak. Expressing concern about the fate of lakhs of students, a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud remarked, “We don't live in an ideal world, but before deciding on a retest, we're mindful that we're dealing with 23 lakh students.”

The bench sought detail from the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) saying that in the case of not conducting a retest, what actions are being taken by the government and the NTA to identify beneficiaries of wrongdoing? “Anyone breaching the exam has no right to be there. We also seek clarity on the government's course of action," the bench stated.

The Apex court has also sought details from the Centre and the NTA, about the entire examination process and result, the nature of FIRs being registered and a report on how the paper leak spread.

Re-Test Must Be Considered If Integrity of NEET-UG 2024 Exam is Compromised: Top Court

The Supreme Court sought clarification on the national scale of withheld results due to such leaks and their distribution across states. Additionally, the court queried the ongoing identification process of wrongdoers, noting a retest for 1,563 students.

During proceedings, the Solicitor General (SG) said in Godhra a superintendent allegedly colluded with students to provide a three-hour window for exam malpractice. Upon discovery by the District Magistrate (DM), the papers were confiscated, and the superintendent was apprehended. As a consequence, results for implicated students have been withheld.

The Top Court also stated that a re-test must be considered if the integrity of the NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance exam is compromised and its question paper leaked through social media. CJI DY Chandrachud, leading the bench, further said that it could rapidly disseminate if the leak occurred via platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, or other electronic means. A bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the matter and posted it for the next hearing on Thursday.

Earlier, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting the NEET examination, recently told the Supreme Court that scrapping the exam would be "counterproductive" and "seriously jeopardise" lakhs of honest candidates in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality.

The NEET UG 2024 examination was conducted across hundreds of centres in India on May 5, and the results of the same were declared on June 4, ten days ahead of schedule. The NTA awarded full marks in the exam to dozens of students, with 67 toppers for the medical exam this year.

This raised protests and echoes of a NEET retest by students and organisations, alleging irregularities in the marking system used by NTA. Many students also alleged paper leak in multiple centres, saying that most of the toppers and high-scorers belonged to one specific region or exam centre.

The Centre and the NTA on June 13 told the court that they had cancelled the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates. They were given the option to either take a re-test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded for loss of time.

Chronology of Events in The NEET-UG 2024 Case

Following is the chronology of events in the NEET-UG 2024 case in which the Supreme Court on Monday observed that sanctity of the exam is "breached" given the question paper leak: 

* Feb 9, 2024: Public notice for NEET-UG 2024 issued by National Testing Agency (NTA) for online submission of application form.

* May 5: NEET-UG 2024 exam conducted at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad.

* May 17: SC seeks responses from Centre and NTA on plea alleging irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 held on May 5.

* June 4: Results for NEET-UG 2024 declared, 67 candidates bagged top rank.

* June 11: Observing that sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 has been affected, the SC sought responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea seeking holding of a fresh examination on grounds of alleged question paper leak and other malpractices.

* June 13: Centre tells SC it has cancelled grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the NEET-UG examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses. Centre says they will have the option to either take a re-test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded to them for loss of time.

* June 14: SC sought responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea seeking a CBI probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in NEET-UG 2024.

* June 18: SC said even if there was "0.001 per cent negligence" on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.

* June 23: As many as 813 of the 1,563 candidates who were earlier awarded grace marks in NEET-UG appeared for a re-test, officials said.

* July 1: Number of candidates sharing top rank in medical entrance test NEET-UG reduced to 61 from 67 as the NTA announced revised results.

* July 5: Scrapping NEET-UG 2024 exam in entirety would "seriously jeopardise" lakhs of honest candidates and not be rational in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality, the Centre told the SC.

* July 5: NTA tells SC that cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 would be hugely counterproductive and significantly harmful to the larger public interest, especially to the career prospects of those who cleared it.