NEET-UG 2024 exam cancelled: Supreme Court hearing underway

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday heard petitions seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam due to alleged malpractices and leak of documents. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra began hearing the petitions after 10:30 am.

The central government and the National Examinations Agency (NTA) have filed affidavits opposing the plea seeking cancellation of the exam. They contend that the alleged cases of cheating are isolated and do not warrant cancellation of the exam in its entirety, which would jeopardise the future of countless honest students. The petitioners, however, are pleading for a re-examination, claiming that the leakage of papers was widespread and has compromised the integrity of the exam.

In the crosshairs of alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET and PhD entrance exam NET, the Centre sacked NTA Director General Subodh Singh last week and briefed a high-level panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation chief R Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of the exams through the NTA.

While NEET is under the spotlight due to several irregularities including an alleged leak of papers, UGC-NET was cancelled as the education ministry received information that the integrity of the exam was compromised. Both these cases are being investigated by the CBI.