New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed pleas seeking the cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024, holding that there was no data on record to indicate a systemic leak of question papers or other malpractices.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard submissions from a battery of lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), and senior advocates Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde, and Mathews Nedumapra, over four days.
The bench delivered the operative part of the judgment with consideration for the future of over two million students, stating that a detailed judgment would follow.
“The absence of material to conclude that the results of the NEET-UG 2024 exam are vitiated or indicate a systemic breach,” said the CJI.
The bench noted, however, that the fact that the question paper had leaked in Hazaribagh and Patna was not disputed.
The NTA and the Union education ministry have been at the center of a massive political row and protests by students over alleged large-scale malpractices ranging from question paper leaks to impersonation during the test held on May 5.
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.
NEET-UG 2024 was taken by 23.33 lakh students at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 overseas locations, on May 5.
