The Supreme Court of India today dismissed the plea to cancel the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 and affirmed that there was no substantial evidence pointing toward systemic leakage of the question papers. The verdict has, in effect, given a green signal to the continuity of entrance examinations into medical colleges, a matter of paramount interest for almost 23 lakh aspiring medical professionals.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud said re-examination would entail immense hardship to millions of students and delay the induction of fresh medical professionals into the system. “We cannot undermine the efforts and aspirations of lakhs of students based on unsubstantiated allegations,” the CJI remarked.
The National Testing Agency, which conducted the NEET-UG, countered the allegations of mass malpractice. It provided centre-wise data analysis to the court and proved no significant deviations in success rates compared to previous years. The agency argued that without concrete proof of a large-scale breach, it would be unfair to the majority of honest candidates to cancel the examination.
An expert panel from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, played an important role during the proceedings by responding to the many concerns over a disputed physics question and said that the fourth option of the questioned item was correct. With this clarification, the scores of over four lakh candidates who took the exam will be affected.
The NTA was under attack for the wrong distribution of question papers at eight centres, including one in Jhajjar. A matter on which grace marks were given to such students. However, the apex court asked the petitioners as to what exactly was the material brought before it to establish that the leaks of question papers were such widespread rather than isolated incidents.
While acknowledging the leaks in Patna and Hazaribagh, the court has taken cognizance of the fact that these two incidents are already under CBI investigation. However, localised breaches are no ground for scrapping the examination for the entire batch since it would lead to harassment for lakhs of candidates unnecessarily who took part in the examination honestly, the Centre and NTA contended.
Thus, the judgment of the Supreme Court serves to underscore, at one level, the plurality of competitive examinations, while striking a balance between the dictates of fairness and the aspirations of millions of students. Now, with this verdict, what matters is securing future exams against any possible breach and ensuring the credibility of NEET-UG.
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