In response to claims that the paper was leaked, the Supreme Court on Tuesday sent notice to the National Testing Agency and the centre over a petition to invalidate the results of the extremely competitive admission exam for undergraduate medical programmes, the NEET-UG 2024.
“It is not that simple… that because you have done it (held the exam) it is sacrosanct,” the court told the NTA, “Sanctity of (the examination) has been affected… so we need answers.”
However, the court stated that admissions counselling will go on. The statements “We are not stopping counselling” came from Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. The case was then rescheduled for July 8, when Chief Justice DY Chandrachud will hear a plea.
In the ongoing dispute over the NEET-UG 2024 results, the court was considering a new petition alleging score disparities and partial treatment of certain students.
The petition requested the annulment of the exam results dated May 5.
In addition, a new exam was requested in the petition. The petitioners, who are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, have asked the court to consider variances in the grace mark awards, citing “no defined logic” and “statistically impossible” values, such as students receiving the maximum score of 720 out of 720.
“There has no defined logic for grace marks given (and) no list has been shared as per given grace marks. Moreover, the reason for awarding grace marks is ‘wastage of time’… but this was never disclosed in information bulletin before the exam,” the petitioners claimed.
The petitioners have also cited the fact that 67 students from a certain coaching centre received all 720 marks and that more than 13,000 students challenged the NTA’s preliminary answer key because it suggested an alternative solution to the problem.
Underscoring the dangers of cheating in a medical test, the plea said, “This field requires a deep understanding of scientific and medical knowledge… cheating or using unfair means to pass an exam can lead to a lack of competence and endanger lives of patients.”
The petitioners also noted that cheating in exams “undermines the principles of meritocracy and equal opportunities, which are essential for social mobility and fairness in society”.
“It perpetuates inequalities by favoring those who can afford to pay for leaked exam papers or engage in fraudulent activities, while disadvantaging those who rely on their hard work and merit to succeed and the same also impacts the society as a whole,” the plea said.
While considering a similar appeal on May 17, the bench presided over by the Chief Justice issued a notice, but the declaration of results was not stopped.
Meanwhile, the NTA has decided a high-powered committee will analyse the grievances of 1,600 students who have already appeared for the NEET 2024 exam.
