SC issues notice on NTA’s fresh batch of transfer pleas on NEET-UG

Bench refuses to pass a formal order staying the proceedings pending before the Rajasthan High Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a fresh batch of petitions filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), seeking the transfer of pleas pending before the Rajasthan High Court related to the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, to the apex court.

A Bench presided over by CJI DY Chandrachud ordered tagging of NTA’s transfer plea with the main batch of petitions, including pleas seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG exam, coming up for hearing on July 18. The Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, refused to pass a formal order staying the proceedings pending before the Rajasthan HC.

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“High Court generally does not proceed once we issue notice,” it told the counsel representing NTA, who pressed for a stay order on proceedings pending before the high court. Earlier on June 20, the top court had stayed the proceedings pending before various high courts of the country pertaining to the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and had allowed the withdrawal of other transfer petitions filed by NTA seeking transfer of writ petitions pending before various high courts pertaining to the award of compensatory marks in view of its earlier order.

In an order passed on June 13, the Supreme Court decided to close the issue relating to the grant of grace marks in the NEET (UG) exam after NTA submitted that scorecards of 1,563 candidates, who were awarded compensatory marks on account of the loss of time, had been withdrawn and cancelled.

These candidates were given an option to appear in a re-test to be held on June 23 or to appear in counselling on the basis of actual marks obtained in the exam without normalisation. Meanwhile, the Centre, in its latest affidavit filed before the top court, said that the data analysis conducted by IIT Madras showed that there was neither any indication of mass malpractice nor a localised set of candidates being benefitted leading to abnormal scores in the NEET-UG examination held on May 5 this year.