NEET-UG 2024 hearing: Cancellation of entire exam is ‘extreme last resort’, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 8) said that cancelling the National Eligibility and Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 in its entirety was a “last resort” as it affected the lives of over 23 lakh students who took the prestigious medical entrance exam across the country.

However, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud concluded that the fact that questions were leaked and the sanctity of the examination compromised was “uncontroversial”.

Follow the highlights of NEET-UG 2024 hearing in Supreme Court on July 8, 2024

“One thing is certain: the leak has taken place. The sanctity of the examination is compromised, that is undeniable. But how big is the leak? We have to ascertain the nature of the leak… Before ordering a retest, we have to know the extent of the leak. We do not live in an ideal world where there is no leakage. But a retest affects the lives of 23 lakh students. Cancellation of the NEET-UG exam is the last resort. It will be done only if we have no other option… If we cannot separate the wheat from the chaff, a retest will have to be ordered,” Chief Justice Chandrachud observed in the court.

The three-judge bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, reprimanded the Union government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, to come out of “self-denial” and help the court uncover the extent of the leak.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said it was essential to know the nature and extent of the leak to decide whether the NEET-UG 2024, which was held on May 5, should be cancelled. The court is examining whether there is a possibility of isolating the offenders to spare students the trauma of a retest.

“Systemic fraud”

But the petitioners seeking a retest, represented by advocates Mathew Nedumpara and Charu Mathur, argued that the credibility of the examination had been lost. They said it was not possible to distinguish the fraudsters from the innocent. The fraud was carried out at a systemic level.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said the leaks were an example of local malpractice. He countered the “unprecedented” phenomenon of 67 candidates securing perfect 720/720 marks, saying the top 100 candidates were spread across 95 sectors, in 56 cities across 18 states and union territories. The NTA argued that the NEET 2024 syllabus was comparatively easier than the previous four years, when there were a total of only seven candidates securing perfect marks.

The Chief Justice said the law on whether a new test was necessary was based on established principles of law.

“Based on the data before it, a court has to determine whether the violation is systemic, whether it has affected the integrity of the entire examination process, whether it is possible to separate the beneficiaries from the uncorrupted students. In case separation is not possible, it would be necessary to order a fresh examination. On the other hand, if the violation is confined to specific centres, it may not be appropriate to order a fresh examination, especially when it involves more than 23 lakh students,” the CJI said.

The Supreme Court has demanded that the NTA make “full disclosure”. It said the time has come for the Centre and the NTA to use all technology, common sense and knowledge of law to identify the wrongdoers.

The court directed the NTA to file a response before Thursday, the next date of hearing, to the court’s pointed questions, including when and where the leaks were first noticed; how the questions were leaked and circulated; the time between the conduct of the leak and the actual conduct of the examination on May 5; the steps taken so far to identify the beneficiaries of the leak; the modalities followed to identify these candidates; the number of students identified as beneficiaries.

The court sought details on the status of the counselling process. It also directed the CBI, which has been assigned the probe into the NEET case, to file a status report and the material revealed during the investigation. “The investigating officer should elaborate on the manner in which the leak occurred,” the court said.

The Centre must also file a detailed response on the steps taken to protect the sanctity of NEET.

“Consideration should be given to setting up a multidisciplinary committee to oversee measures to prevent future problems. The union and the NTA should determine whether it is possible to use data analysis by forensic laboratories to identify suspected cases. If possible, they should identify modalities to separate infected persons from innocent persons,” the court ordered.

The government-appointed committee headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan was also asked to give complete details of the work done so far. The court said it would examine whether the panel should be “sufficiently strengthened” to attract more talent.

The court said it would consider on Thursday whether all the complete results, except those of the candidates under scanner, could be released.