SC to hear on Monday batch of pleas related to controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is set to hear on Monday a batch of pleas related to the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct it afresh.

In the absence of any evidence of a large-scale breach of confidentiality, the Centre and the National Testing Agency, which conducts NEET-UG, recently informed the apex court that scrapping the exam would be “counterproductive” and “seriously jeopardize” lakhs of honest students.

According to the cause list for July 8 uploaded on the top court’s website, a bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear

a total of 38 petitions related to the exam.

Students and political groups have been protesting and debating the NTA and the Union education ministry in the media over claims of widespread malpractices, such as question paper leaks and impersonation during the test on May 5.

The National Eligibilitycum-Entrance TestUndergraduate (NEETUG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. The Union education ministry and the NTA have filed separate affidavits in the apex court, opposing the pleas which have sought scrapping of the exam, a re-test and a court-monitored probe into the entire gamut of issues involved. In their responses, they have said the CBI, the country's premier investigating agency, has taken over the cases registered in different states.

In its preliminary affidavit filed by a director in the ministry of education, the Centre said, “It is also submitted that at the same time, 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 NTA, in its separate affidavit, reiterated the Centre’s stand and said, “The cancellation of the entire examination on the basis of the aforesaid factor, would be hugely counterproductive and significantly harmful to the larger public interest, especially to the career prospects of the qualified candidates.”