NEET-UG 2014: Supreme Court to hear petitions today alleging irregularities, cancellation of exam | India News

These 40 petitions have been filed by students from across the country who appeared for the NEET UG exam, their parents, coaching institutes and public-minded citizens, who are questioning the credibility of the exam after reports of alleged paper leaks, irregularities in awarding grace marks, cheating and impersonation emerged.

Students raise slogans during a protest against alleged irregularities in NEET 2024 results, in Bhopal, Friday, June 14, 2024. (Photo credit: PTI)

New Delhi: More than a month after the NEET-UG 2024 controversy erupted over alleged irregularities in the exam and students took to the streets in protest, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in a much-anticipated hearing, will today hold hearing on over 40 petitions seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG exam.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Union Education Ministry have taken a stand against the scrapping of the exam before the Supreme Court of India.

The Indian government has formalised its stand on the NEET-UG exam after filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Friday, stating that it would be imprudent to cancel the exam in its entirety as there is still no evidence of large-scale irregularities in the exam.

The NTA has also filed its affidavit in the same vein as that of the Education Ministry. These affidavits have been filed in response to over 40 petitions filed in the Supreme Court since June 4, 2024, when the NEET-UG results were declared.

Several petitions have been filed by students and others across the country

These 40 petitions have been filed by students from across the country who appeared for the NEET UG exam, their parents, coaching institutes and public-minded citizens, who are questioning the credibility of the exam after reports of alleged paper leaks, irregularities in awarding grace marks, cheating and impersonation emerged.

The petitions seek a stay in the counselling process for allotment of medical seats on the basis of NEET-UG results, the Supreme Court has monitored the investigation into the allegations of leakage of NEET-UG documents, re-evaluation and review of marks awarded to students.

Submissions to the NTA

The NTA has acknowledged cases of irregularities and malpractices in Patna and Godhra. It said it is not a case where the entire examination process conducted at 4,750 centres in 571 cities has suffered systematic failure and is not marred by all the pervasive factors of unfair means or leakage of documents.

The NTA further said that CBI investigations into the alleged malpractices in NEET-UG 2024 are underway and cancellation of the entire exam would be highly detrimental to the larger public interest involving the academic career of lakhs of students who attempted the exam fairly.

Presentations by the Ministry of Education and the Union of India

The Education Ministry said that the Union of India is committed to protecting the interests of lakhs of students who attempted the NEET-UG fairly and after years of hard work. It further said that after the conduct of the NEET-UG exam, cases of alleged irregularities and malpractices were reported and the CBI has taken over the investigation into the matter from the state police. It also said that in the absence of evidence of large-scale breach of confidentiality, it would not be rational to cancel the entire exam once the results are declared and if the exam is cancelled, the interests of the students who have appeared honestly will be compromised.

The Union of India also cites a 2021 Supreme Court judgment where the court refused to quash the entire examination process because it was not possible to separate students who had adopted unfair means and the others.