NEET Supreme Court Hearing: The Supreme Court will hear the NEET-related petitions on Monday to decide whether to cancel the paper leak and irregularities-marred exam or to uphold the central government's stand to go forward with the already conducted examination. Among the 38 NEET-related pleas in the apex court, the maximum seeks to cancel the previously conducted exam and demands a fresh one. However, a select few also sought the opposite.
According to the listing on the Supreme Court website, all petitions related to NEET-UG will be heard by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice VY Chandrachud. The upcoming hearing is particularly significant as the issue of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) became a centre of political row. The Congress and other opposition parties are continuously targeting the government and raising questions regarding this matter. There have been continuous protests across the country demanding the cancellation of this exam.
Centre Opposes Re-NEET
Amid the NEET paper leak row, the Ministry of Education and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the NEET-UG, have submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court detailing the transparency and process followed during the examination. They have also provided information on the irregularities found in NEET-UG, stating that the irregularities were found only in Godhra and Patna, which are being investigated by the CBI. Therefore, cancelling the entire examination would not be appropriate as it would harm talented students.
The response of the Ministry of Education and NTA came after they were served a notice by the apex court on the petitions demanding the cancellation of the examination. The NTA also informed the SC that the controversy regarding the grace marks given to 1563 students in the NEET-UG exam has been resolved, as those marks have been annulled and the students have retaken the exam, with their results already declared.
Education Ministry Says 'Committee Formed'
The Ministry of Education, in its affidavit to the court, has provided information on the steps taken following these allegations, including the formation of a high-level committee to conduct transparent exams and to address issues like paper leaks.
This committee will provide suggestions for improving the NTA within the next two months. It is noteworthy that the controversy regarding irregularities in the NEET-UG exam escalated when the NTA announced the results on June 4. While 67 students topped the exam, some students scored 718, 719, and 716 out of 720 marks.
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When students raised doubts, the NTA disclosed that grace marks were given, although there is no provision for grace marks in the exam. Subsequently, incidents of irregularities during the exams in Patna and Godhra came to light, raising questions about the NTA's credibility. Later, there was also a case of a paper leak in the UGC-NET exam, which led to the cancellation of the entire exam. Following this, the Ministry handed over the investigation of irregularities in both UGC-NET and NEET-UG exams to the CBI.