NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024, holding that there was no data on record to indicate a systemic leak of question paper and other malpractices.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard submissions from a battery of lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), and senior advocates Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde and Mathews Nedumapra for around four days.
The bench dictated the operative part of the judgement keeping in mind the future of over two million students and said a detailed judgement will follow.
“There is absence of material to conclude that result of NEET-UG 2024 exam is vitiated or there is systemic breach,” the CJI said.
The bench, however, said the fact that the question paper leak took place in Hazaribagh and Patna was not in dispute.
The NTA and the Union education ministry have been at the centre of a massive political row and protests by students over alleged large-scale malpractices ranging from question paper leaks to impersonation in the test held on May 5.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
The NEET-UG 2024 was taken by 23.33 lakh students at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 overseas, on May 5.
Chronology of events in NEET-UG 2024 case
Following is the chronology of events in the case:
- Feb 9, 2024: National Testing Agency (NTA) issues public notice for online submission of application form for NEET-UG 2024.
- May 5: The NEET-UG 2024 exam was 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 bag top rank.
- June 11: Observing that the sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 has been affected, SC seeks responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea seeking the 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 seeks responses from Centre and NTA on a plea seeking a CBI probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in NEET-UG 2024.
- June 18: SC says that 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 earlier awarded grace marks in NEET-UG appear for a re-test, officials said.
- July 1: The number of candidates sharing top rank in medical entrance test NEET-UG reduced to 61 from 67 as NTA announces revised results.
- July 5: Scrapping the NEET-UG 2024 exam in its entirety would “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates and not be rational in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality, Centre tells 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.
- July 10: Centre tells SC there was neither any indication of “mass malpractice” nor a localised set of candidates being benefitted leading to abnormal scores in NEET-UG 2024.
- July 18: SC directs NTA to declare by 12 noon of July 20 centre and city-wise results of NEET-UG 2024 while masking the identities of the aspirants.
- July 22: SC asks the director of IIT-Delhi to set up a team of three experts that would go into a particular question of Physics asked in the NEET-UG 2024 examination and submit a report on the correct answer by next day noon.
- July 23: SC rules out cancellation, re-test of NEET-UG, 2024 exam. “There is absence of material to conclude that result of NEET-UG 2024 exam is vitiated or there is systemic breach,” says CJI D Y Chandrachud.
