- By Mayukh Debnath
- Mon, 08 Jul 2024 08:12 AM (IST)
- Source:IANS
NEET-UG 2024: The Supreme Court will hear on Monday (today) a clutch of petitions related to the controversial NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance examination. The batch of petitions slated to be heard by the apex court also includes those pleas that seek the cancellation of this year's exam, which was held on May 5.
The matter will be listed before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, as per a cause list on the top court's website. According to the list, the bench will also comprise Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
On Friday, the Centre opposed before the Supreme Court the cancellation of the May 5 test, saying that such a move "in the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality" would "seriously jeopardise" the lakhs of candidates who attempted the May 5 paper "honestly".
The Centre's affidavit added, "It is submitted that in any examination, there are competing rights that have been created whereby the interests of a large number of students who have taken the examination without adopting any alleged unfair means must not also be jeopardised."
In the context of the alleged instances of irregularities, including cheating, impersonation, and malpractices, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is undertaking an investigation and has taken over the cases registered in different states, it noted.
Recently, the Supreme Court had expressed reservations over the filing of a writ petition by a coaching institute alleging irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG exam. "What fundamental rights of yours are violated to enable you to maintain a writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution?" a vacation bench had asked the senior counsel representing Xylem Learning, a coaching institution assisting NEET students.
Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to a joint sitting of Parliament, asserted that the government was committed to a fair investigation and ensuring strict punishment to the guilty in the instances of paper leaks.She said, "Even earlier, we have witnessed many instances of paper leaks in different states. We must rise above party politics and undertake concrete measures nationwide." The Parliament has also enacted a strict law against unfair means in examinations, she added.
(With inputs from IANS)
