50 Guj students mobilize against NEET cancellation

Over 50 successful NEET-UG candidates from Gujarat, including several toppers, have moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction restraining the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) from cancelling the controversial exam. They have requested the Supreme Court to direct the Union Education Ministry to investigate, identify and take strict action against students and others who indulged in unfair practices like leaking of documents and impersonation during the NEET-UG exam conducted on May 5 this year.

The fresh petition by 56 students was filed days before a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is scheduled to hear as many as 26 petitions seeking relief such as a retest and an inquiry into the conduct of the exam plagued by allegations of malpractices.

The NEET-UG was conducted in 4,750 centres on May 5 and around 240,000 candidates appeared for the exam. Allegations of irregularities, including leaked documents, led to protests in several cities and clashes between rival political parties.

The petitions seeking cancellation of the exam, re-testing and a high-level inquiry are scheduled to be heard on July 8 in the Supreme Court. The fresh petition by Sidhharth Komal Singla and 55 other students has been filed through advocate Devendra Singh.

It said, “The Hon’ble Court may further direct the respondents (Centre and NTA) not to conduct the NEET-UG again… as it would not only be unreasonable and harsh on honest and hardworking students but would also lead to violation of the right to education and hence violation of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.” The plea sought a direction to the Centre and NTA to identify and punish candidates who adopted unfair means, identify the centres and take appropriate action where “any compromise to the guidelines laid down for NEET-UG 2024 examinations has been made.”

The petitioners are young students aged around 17-18 years and to fulfil their dream of becoming a doctor, they gave 100 per cent of their strength and passed the examination after hard and constant work of more than 3-4 years, he said.

If the retest is held following “hype created by misleading media coverage,” honest students who pass will face difficulties, he added.
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A total of 67 students secured a perfect score of 720, unheard of in the history of NTA, with six from a Haryana centre making it to the list, raising suspicions of irregularities in the exam held on May 5. It has been alleged that grace marks contributed to 67 students sharing the top rank.