'NTA Should Avoid Flip-Flops It Made in NEET UG 2024, Must Fix Deficiencies': SC

The apex court dismissed petitions seeking the cancellation and re-test of the NEET UG 2024 exam, citing no systematic breach beyond specific instances in Hazaribagh and Patna. The court instructed rigorous measures to ensure exam integrity and upheld the necessity to safeguard students' interests.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday said the National Testing Agency (NTA) must avoid the flip-flops it had made while conducting the prestigious NEET UG exam this year, and these flip-flops do not serve the interest of students. The apex court stressed that deficiencies in the examination process must be rectified and, since the interest of several lakh students is involved, it is a "luxury we cannot afford...".

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expanded the scope of the committee set up by the Centre against the backdrop of a paper leak in the NEET exam. The committee's remit now includes the overall security of the exam and also a comprehensive review of the NTA’s administrative processes.

The apex court asked the Centre-appointed K Radhakrishnan expert committee to frame SOP for examination security, develop a mechanism to ensure sanctity, stop impersonation of the candidates, and fix structural deficiencies in the process of conducting the exam.

Detailing on flip-flops during the NEET UG 2024 exam, the CJI said that one, it appears that the examination centre was breached and second, the NTA says 1563 students, to whom the wrong question paper was allocated, were given compensatory marks and then that was recalled, and later, a committee is constituted.

“Then there is a retest for those students’. And, for one question where the correct answer was option 4. NTA decided to allot marks to students for option 2, and as a result, almost 44 students’ got 720 out of 720. We have highlighted all the deficiencies in the structural process…this committee must rectify them. This luxury we cannot afford…”, said the CJI, pronouncing the detailed judgment on behalf of the bench, adding that the court has rejected petitions seeking re-test.

The apex court said there was no systemic breach in the sanctity of the NEET UG 2024 exam, beyond Hazaribagh and Patna, on the basis of the material before the court.

The apex court delivered a detailed judgement giving reasons for trashing petitions seeking cancellation and re-test of controversy-ridden NEET-UG, 2024.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and NTA, assured the bench that all its directions regarding the overall security of the exam will be implemented in letter and spirit.