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

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

Chief Justice DY Chandrachud told the court, “One thing is very clear, the leak has taken place. There is no doubt that the sanctity of the examination is compromised. Now, what is the extent of 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 an extreme last resort. It would be done only if we have no other option… If we cannot separate the wheat from the chaff, a retest should be ordered.”

However, the Chief Justice concluded that the fact that questions had been disclosed and the sanctity of the examination had been compromised was “uncontroversial”.

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 a perfect score of 720/720, saying the top 100 candidates were spread across 95 sectors, in 56 cities spread 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 a perfect score.

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.

The CJI added before the court that “on the basis of the material on record placed before it, the court has to determine whether the violation is systemic; whether it has affected the integrity of the entire examination process; and 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 review. On the other hand, if the violation is confined to specific centres, it may not be appropriate to order a review, particularly when it involves more than 23 lakh students.”

The court also directed the NTA to file a response before Thursday, the next date of hearing, on pointed questions posed by the court, including when and where the leaks were first noticed; how the questions were disclosed; the duration between the conduct of the leak and the actual conduct of the examination on May 5; the steps taken so far to identify the leakers and such candidates.

“The investigating officer has to give details of the manner in which the leakage took place,” the court said. The court also sought details of the progress of the counselling process and further asked the CBI to file a status report and documents that were received during the course of the investigation. The centre has also been asked to file a detailed reply 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.