The Supreme Court will hear various pleas challenging the NEET-UG exams on Monday.
A batch of petitions will be taken up by a bench consisting of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
Approximately 38 petitions have been filed by various students. Some petitioners have sought to conduct the exams again, while others have requested inquiries related to malpractice and irregularities.
Countering the petition submissions, the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET-UG, and the Centre filed an affidavit recently opposing the plea to conduct the medical examination again. NTA and the Centre argued that scrapping the NEET-UG 2024 exam would seriously jeopardize lakhs of honest candidates.
For admissions to MBBS, BDS, and other related undergraduate courses, NTA conducted an exam on May 5. However, the exam gained attention due to alleged paper leaks and inflated marking, leading to nationwide protests by various students after the results were declared on June 4.
Various students have approached the Supreme Court, raising serious concerns over the exam.
In an affidavit, the Union Government informed the Supreme Court that they are committed to ensuring the sanctity of NEET examinations and protecting the interests of students. They argued that scrapping the exam entirely would seriously jeopardize the lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024.
The Centre, in its affidavit filed in the SC recently, submitted that in the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination and the results already declared. They further submitted that in any examination, there are competing rights, and the interests of a large number of students who have taken the examination without adopting any alleged unfair means must not be jeopardized.
It is respectfully submitted that the Government is committed to ensuring the sanctity of examinations and protecting the interest of students. To ensure transparency, fairness, and credibility in public examinations, Parliament enacted the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024 on 12.02.2024. The Act was brought into effect on 21.06.2024 and provides for stringent punishment for offences related to unfair means in public examinations. The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Rules, 2024, under the Act, were also notified on 23.06.2024, the Centre said in the affidavit.
The Centre also submitted that in the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination and the results already declared.
The Union Government emphasized that the interests of a large number of students who have taken the examination without adopting any alleged unfair means must not be jeopardized.
The affidavit apprised that the Ministry of Education has constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to suggest effective measures for conducting transparent, smooth, and fair examinations by the National Testing Agency after the present examination. The Committee has started its deliberation, held four meetings, and begun consultation with stakeholders, especially students, and has sought suggestions and ideas online until July 7.
The Union of India stated that it is committed to conducting all competitive examinations in a fair and transparent manner. The Union of India duly appreciates that the confidentiality of the question papers is the utmost priority in any examination and that if the confidentiality has been breached due to some criminality at the behest of some criminal elements, those individuals must be dealt with sternly and with the full force of the law to ensure they are punished. The UOI also informed that the CBI is probing the irregularities in the exams.
