Amidst the ongoing NEET UG 2024 paper leak controversy, the Supreme Court (SC) heard a batch of around 38 petitions on Monday, challenging the authenticity of the NEET exam conducted on May 5, 2024. The court has demanded a re-exam as a last resort and is focused on determining the extent of the paper leak. The next hearing is set for July 11, 2024.
The court has instructed the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) to provide a detailed timeline of events related to the paper leak and to clarify if all students who benefited from the leaked question paper have been identified. The need to segregate affected students has been emphasized.
In response, the NTA and Centre argued that a re-test would be “counterproductive” and “seriously jeopardize” the interests of honest candidates without evidence of a large-scale breach. The Supreme Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a status report on the investigation into the paper leak by Wednesday. The NEET UG 2024 matter will be heard again on Thursday, July 11.
The delay in the counselling process, which was supposed to start on July 6, has caused concern among students. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has not officially communicated any delay, but the process is on hold until the court case is resolved. Previously, the court refused to delay the counselling process, and the NTA had scheduled a re-test for June 23 for 1,563 students affected by time loss, with the results announced as planned.
The re-test results showed a decrease in the number of perfect scores from 67 to 61, leading to increased competition among students scoring between 680 to 710. The report from the seven-member reform committee, formed to suggest reforms for the NTA to ensure transparency and efficiency, is still awaited.
