NTA opposes cancellation of exam in Supreme Court

Like the Union government, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has also filed a saffidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the pleas seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam.

The NTA said thatThe cases of alleged malpractices are isolated and limited to centres in two cities, namely Patna and Godhra. Thus, in view of this, it is submitted that if the entire examination is cancelled, it would be “extremely prejudicial to the public interest” of lakhs of students who have appeared for their exams.

The testing agency has also claimed that the alleged malpractices did not undermine the “sanctity” of the exam or provide any “undue benefit” to students who appeared for their exams at these centres. It said that the NEET-UG 2024, conducted by 23 lakh students at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, did not suffer from any “systemic failure” and that the exam as a whole was not tainted by individual instances of unfair means and leaks of papers.

“The table of performance of the students of the above-mentioned centres reveals that the performance of the students of these centres is neither abnormally high nor significantly different from the national average of the performance of other centres located in different parts of the country. The data thus prepared also shows that the students of the concerned centre have not obtained marks which would make them eligible or entitle them to admission in the premier medical colleges.” the affidavit states.

As regards the action taken, it was submitted that in the case of the Patna centre, the modus operandi adopted was to steal a copy of the examination papers. This copy was allegedly used to facilitate the malpractices by solving the questions and giving private tutoring to the candidates concerned. However, it was also pointed out that the number of such candidates who were allegedly benefited by these measures appears to be “tiny”.

“However, based on the revelations made so far in this case, it is humbly submitted that the alleged incident/attempt to leak does not appear to have any bearing on the conduct of the examination as a whole, as the number of students/candidates implicated by the investigating agencies is minuscule compared to the number of candidates who appeared. Cancellation of the examination as a whole on the basis of the aforesaid factor would be extremely counterproductive and considerably prejudicial to the public interest as a whole, particularly the career prospects of the qualified candidates.” . “

As for the misdeeds at the Godhra centre, it was alleged that it was masterminded by a Deputy Superintendent of Examinations, Mr Tushar Bhatt. He allegedly conspired with some students to help them by filling their OMR sheets after their exams were over. However, according to the agency, the officials had sorted out the issue in advance and the accused was arrested in time.

“Like in the Godhra case, the investigation into this incident, initially being conducted by the local police, has also been handed over to the CBI, the main central investigation agency. A few arrests also seem to have already been made and some of the identified students who were supposedly the beneficiaries of the malpractice have also been arrested, along with the masterminds of the crime.. “, the affidavit adds.

Highlighting the measures taken by the agency to ensure that the review was conducted fairly and with due confidentiality, without any illegal practices, it is argued that the present review did not suffer from any “systematic failure”.

“It is further stated that DO letters have been issued by the Director General (NTA) to the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all States/UTs as well as DMs/DCs and Commissioners of Police/SPs during the last week of March 2024, for their guidance/support regarding specific protocols or security measures that need to be followed to ensure compliance with the law and maintain the sanctity of the examination process.” . “

“Considering the sensitivity associated with the high-stakes examination like NEET (UG) – 2024, the verification of candidates at the examination centres has been done through Aadhaar authentication, with a view to curbing malpractices, such as identity theft.”, added the pea.

Further, the NTA also argued that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has already conducted an investigation into alleged malpractices and a conclusive opinion on possible systematic lapses can be given only after that.

“It is submitted that as part of various measures taken by the Union of India, an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged malpractices in NEET (UG) – 2024, is underway. It is submitted that any conclusive view as to whether there was systematic failure or not can be arrived at only after a complete examination of all the relevant factors, which are explained below. It is submitted that if the entire examination process is cancelled without there being any tangible factors justifying such action, it would be highly prejudicial to the larger public interest involving the academic career of lakhs of students who attempted the examination without any wrongdoing.…”

The NTA said it had withheld the results of students involved in the malpractices and issued them with notices seeking criminal action and banning.

The affidavit also drew strength from the case of Sachin Kumar and others v. DSSSB and others, (2021) 4 SCC 631.in which the Supreme Court observed that those who are innocent of wrongdoing should not pay the price of those who are actually involved in irregularities. By separating the wrongdoers, the selection of non-corrupt candidates can be allowed to pass the test by taking the selection process to its logical conclusion.

The NTA affidavit was filed in the matter of the affidavit is filed in the matter of Vanshika Yadav vs UOI. In this petition, the Court had been requested to conduct a re-conduct of the NEET UG exams in light of the alleged malpractices and leak of exam papers.

Although the bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud issued notice on this petition and posted the matter in July, the bench said that the results of examinations conducted all over India cannot be stayed.

Earlier in the day, the Union government had also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam, saying it was not rational to scrap the entire exam in the absence of any evidence of large-scale breach of confidentiality.

“Canceling the exam in its entirety would seriously endanger the hundreds of thousands of honest candidates who attempted the test in 2024.“, said the affidavit filed by the Union Education Ministry ahead of the hearing in the Supreme Court scheduled for July 8.

Case Details: Vanshika Yadav v. UOI WP(C) No. 000335 – / 2024