'Sufficient material not on record': SC upholds decision, declines re-exam of NEET-UG 2024

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea requesting a new NEET-UG 2024 exam on Wednesday. The court said its August 2 decision, which also rejected a re-examination, had no errors."There is no error apparent on the face of the record. No case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013 has been established. The review petition is, therefore, dismissed," the bench, consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said in an order dated October 22, made available recently.The review petition was filed by Kajal Kumari .The top court maintained its stance from August 2, stating that a re-examination was not warranted due to insufficient evidence of systemic issues impacting the exam's integrity.The court said, "...sufficient material is not on record at present which indicates a systemic leak or systemic malpractice of other forms. The material on record does not, at present, substantiate the allegation that there has been a widespread malpractice, which compromised the integrity of the exam. To the contrary, an assessment of the data shows there are no deviations which indicate that systemic cheating has taken place."Despite upholding the exam's validity, the court did express concerns about the National Testing Agency's (NTA) organisation of NEET-UG 2024. It highlighted the NTA's responsibility in conducting such crucial exams and cautioned against missteps.The apex court expanded the scope of a seven-member committee, led by former Isro chief K Radhakrishnan, to review the NTA's functioning and recommend exam reforms. Over 23 lakh students participated in the NEET-UG 2024 exam held on May 5 for admissions to medical courses including MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH.