• Source:JND
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NEET-UG Paper Leak Row: The Supreme Court, while hearing the NEET-UG 2024 case on July 18, raised several doubts over the claims made by the Central government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding the timeline of the paper leak incident. The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwla and Manoj Misra, remarked that the hypothesis that the question papers were leaked, solved and given to students to memorize all within 45 minutes on the exam date (May 5), appeared to be "too far-fetched."

The top court, on Thursday, heard a batch of cases seeking to cancel the National Eligibility- cum-Entrance Test (NEET) held this year for undergraduate medical admissions on the grounds of paper leak and other malpractices.

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During the day-long hearing, the court raised several questions to the Centre and the NTA to determine whether the paper leak was limited to certain examination centers or if it was a widespread issue. The court also made an oral observation that if the time gap between the paper leak and the actual exam was long, it would indicate a more widespread problem.

What Centre, NTA Tell Supreme Court About Paper Leak

The Centre and the NTA maintained that the paper leak occurred only at a center in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, on the morning of the exam. The leaked paper was then sent to some gang members in Patna as well. Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta informed the court that, according to the CBI investigation, at the Hazaribagh center, an unauthorised person took photographs of the question papers between 8 AM and 9:20 AM on May 5. These solved papers were then provided to students who had paid the criminal gang.

Supreme Court's Observation On Paper Leak Case

However, the Chief Justice expressed scepticism about the plausibility of this timeline, questioning whether it was feasible for the entire 180-question paper to be solved and distributed to students within just 45 minutes before the exam started at 10:15 AM. Mehta stated that the gang had seven members who divided the questions among themselves, but the court remained unconvinced, describing the hypothesis as "too far-fetched."

"The whole hypothesis that the entire paper was solved in 45 minutes and given to students is too far-fetched," CJI remarked. "Primary breach happens in Hazaribagh. Solving happened in Hazaribagh and was sent to Patna. All happened in 45 minutes?" Live Law quoted as CJI saying. 

Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing some of the NEET-UG 2024 candidates, presented a crucial piece of information to the court. Hegde submitted that according to the first FIR registered by the Patna Police, the paper leak had actually occurred on the day prior to the examination, and not just 45 minutes before the start of the exam as claimed by the authorities.