'Cancellation will be last resort': Top observations made by SC on NEET-UG 2024 paper leak

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday observed that if the integrity of the NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance exam has been compromised and the question paper leak has been disseminated through social media platforms, a re-examination must be conducted. The court sought accountability from authorities, adjourning the matter till July 11 and directing the CBI to provide a status report by Wednesday.

The apex court was hearing over 30 petitions concerning the medical entrance examination NEET-UG. These petitions include allegations of irregularities and malpractices during the May 5 test, with some seeking a directive to re-conduct the examination.

The Bench headed by CJI also heard a separate plea filed by over 50 successful NEET-UG candidates from Gujarat, requesting the court to prevent the Centre and the NTA from invalidating the disputed exam.

The NEET-UG exam was marred by accusations of malpractice, including alleged paper leaks and dubious marking methods, which triggered widespread anger and demonstrations nationwide. As a result, certain students were directed to retake the NEET UG exam, and the NEET-PG exam was postponed.

Here's what SC said:

• The court acknowledged the occurrence of the question paper leak and stressed that if the exam's sanctity is lost, a re-test becomes necessary."No question that question paper has been leaked, we are determining extent of leak", the top court said.
• Bench noted that the nature of leak must be determined before conducting a re-test of the exam. "You don't cancel a whole exam only because 2 students engaged in malpractice. Therefore, we must be careful about the nature of leak. Before we order a re-test we must be conscious of extent of leak as we are dealing with 23 lakh students", the SC bench said.

• Highlighting the rapid spread of leaks through digital platforms and the potential consequences for exam integrity, SC said, "If paper leak is taking place through Telegram, WhatsApp and electronic means, then it spreads like wildfire. If leak has been propagated through social media, then re-test has to be ordered,"
• Questioning the action that the government has taken, Bench of CJI, Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, "We have to be ruthless with those wrongdoers and those who benefited from the leakage of paper. What action has the government taken,"
• SC asked CBI to file status report on investigations into the paper leak FIRs by Wednesday. The matters would be heard again on Thursday. SC also asked NTA and Centre to answer all queries it raised and said a decision on re-test would be taken based on these responses.
• CJI directed NTA to make full disclosure in 3 aspects: (1) Nature of leak (2) Places where leak took place and (3) Lag of time between occurrence of leak and conduct of exam.

In their recent affidavits submitted to the SC, the Centre and the NTA responsible for conducting NEET-UG, said that annulling the exam would be "counterproductive" and would "seriously jeopardise" the prospects of lakhs of honest candidates, given the absence of evidence indicating a large-scale breach of confidentiality.

To address worries about inflated scores caused by the allocation of 'grace marks,' the authorities decided to hold a retest on June 23 for the 1,563 affected candidates.

In response to the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and PhD entrance NET, the Centre has removed Subodh Singh from his position as the NTA director general. It also formed a high-level panel, chaired by former Isro chief R Radhakrishnan, to ensure that examinations conducted by the agency are transparent, smooth, and fair.

Both the NEET-UG and UGC-NET matters are currently under investigation by the CBI.

Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.