On Tuesday (23rd July), the Supreme Court of India refused to order a retest for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test -Undergraduate (NEET-UG 2024) examination on the grounds of allegations of paper leak and malpractices. The bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud rejected the batch of pleas that sought a re-test and cancellation of the exam results. It ruled that there was no material to conclude that exams were vitiated or that the leak was systemic which could have affected the sanctity of the entire exam.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra noted that ordering a re-examination would lead to serious consequences that would affect over 23 lakh students. The court stated that this would have led to disruption of the academic schedule and caused a cascading effect in the coming years.
It is pertinent to note that the NEET-UG 2024 exam was held on 5th May 2024. Days after the examinations, students approached the Courts alleging paper leaks and malpractice. The results of the exams were declared on 4th June.
The CJI-led bench acknowledged that cases of paper leaks took place at the centres in Hazaribag (Jharkhand) and Patna (Bihar). However, the Court noted that there was no sufficient material on record based on which it could be concluded that the results were vitiated in its entirety or that there was a systemic breach in the sanctity of the exam.
The court stated that data on record is not indicative of a systemic leak of the question paper which would indicate a disruption of the sanctity of the exam.
The court heard the arguments of both sides for over 4 days and immediately pronounced the judgement as it affected a large section of the students.
Dictating its order, the court concluded that there is no dispute that the paper leak took place in Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) and at Patna (Bihar).
The CBI probe is still ongoing. However, the CBI disclosures have indicated that about 155 students drawn from exam centres at Hazaribagh and Patna appeared to be beneficiaries of the scam.
#BREAKING CJI: Reasons for conclusion will follow. We conclude and hold:
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) July 23, 2024
1. fact that leak of NEET UG 2024 paper took place at hazaribagh and at patna is not in dispute
2. following transfer of investigation to it, CBI has filed its status reports dated July 10
The Supreme Court bench stated that it is also mindful of the fact that directing a fresh NEET-UG test for the present year would be replete with serious consequences for over 2 million students, including in particular –
- Disruption of the admission schedule
- Cascading effects on the course of medical education
- Prejudicial impact on the availability of qualified medical professionals in the future
- A serious element of disadvantage to the marginalised groups of students for whom reservations have been made in the allocation of seats.
