NEET-UG 2024: SC to hear pleas on Monday

Bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra to hear a total of 38 petitions related to the controversy-ridden exam

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will 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.

The Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET-UG, recently told the apex court that scrapping the exam would be “counterproductive” and “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality.

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According to the cause list for July 8 uploaded on the court’s website, a Bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear a total of 38 petitions related to the exam.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

The NTA and the Union Education Ministry have been at the centre of media debates and protests by students and political parties over alleged large-scale malpractices ranging from question paper leaks to impersonation in the test held on May 5.

The 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.

“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 Centre said in its preliminary affidavit filed by a director in the ministry of education.

“Scrapping the exam in entirety would seriously jeopardise the lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024,” the Ministry said.

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.”

The agency said the entirety of the NEET-UG 2024 exam was carried out fairly and with due confidentiality without any illegal practices, and the claim of “mass malpractice” during the exam is “completely unfounded, misleading, and lacks any basis”.