Controversy erupted last month over the 2024 NEET-UG exam, which was attended by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical professionals, following allegations that the question paper had been leaked.
The Supreme Court stated on Thursday morning that the 2024 NEET-UG, the entrance exam for undergraduate medical courses held on May 5, can only be re-conducted if the “sanctity” of the exam was “lost on a large scale” due to leaked questions. This announcement was made while the court heard over 40 petitions requesting a re-test.
Additionally, the court heard petitions from the National Testing Agency (NTA), the central body responsible for conducting competitive exams, which sought to transfer cases filed by various state police forces to the respective High Courts to avoid potential duplication and confusion.
The hearing began with Chief Justice DY Chandrachud emphasizing the urgency of the matter, noting that lakhs of students are awaiting the court’s decision. “We will give priority to the NEET matter because of social ramifications,” he said.
The first significant moment came when the Chief Justice sharply responded to a petitioner’s request to void the exam results for all students due to the potential compromise caused by the leaked paper.
“You have to demonstrate that the leak was systematic and affected the entire examination to justify canceling the whole exam,” the court stated. “Secondly, tell us the direction the investigation should take,” the Chief Justice-led three-member bench firmly said.
“If we accept your broader claim that leaked question papers compromised the exam results, we would also need your assistance on how the investigation should proceed.”
The court also noted that it might be impractical to identify and segregate the hundreds or thousands of students who may have conspired to access the questions beforehand.
Regarding the number of petitioners, which is crucial to establishing the strength of the petitions seeking cancellation, the NTA responded, “There are 131 students not within the 1.08 lakh selected for admission to private colleges who want a re-test, and 254 who are opposing the re-test.”
Controversy erupted last month over the 2024 NEET-UG exam, attended by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical professionals, following allegations that the question paper had been leaked. Subsequent inquiries suggested that the leak was orchestrated by a national ‘solver gang’ network operating on social media.
The first red flags were the unusually high number of perfect scores, with a record 67 students, including six from one coaching center, achieving the maximum score of 720. Concerns were also raised about the awarding of ‘grace marks’ to 1,563 students, which authorities stated was not standard exam protocol.