New Delhi: Amid the ongoing row over National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG exam, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined to stay the retest for the over 1,500 students, who were awarded grace marks, and also issued notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and Centre on a plea to form an independent enquiry committee to investigate the paper leak in the prestigious exam, and other irregularities.
A bench comprising justices Vikram Nath and S.V.N. Bhatti reiterated that it will not stay the NEET-UG 2024 counselling, which is scheduled to commence from July 6, and also issued notice on a petition filed by National Testing Agency (NTA) seeking transfer of pleas related to the NEET from high court to the top court and also stayed the proceedings on petitions filed in various high courts in connection with alleged the paper leak of the exam for various medical courses.
The apex court issued fresh notice to Centre and NTA seeking their response to fresh petitions filed in connection with NEET-UG and said they will be taken up for hearing on July 8. The apex court declined to pass any interim order in the case.
A counsel, representing the National Testing Agency (NTA), submitted before the bench that NTA has moved the court seeking transfer of the petitions from the high courts to the apex court. NTA had filed transfer petitions seeking transfer of petitions from three high courts to the apex court. The NTA also sought stay of proceedings on petitions filed in Rajasthan, Calcutta, and Bombay high courts regarding the alleged paper leak in NEET-UG 2024.
It was argued before the bench that despite notice issued by the apex court on transfer of cases, the high courts have continued to hear the matters.
Justice Nath said there could be some individual cases filed, for example seeking answer sheets, some regarding higher marks or lesser marks, and let the high courts continue to hear those matters. However, Verma Kaushik, representing NTA, insisted that there should be a stay on the proceedings in the high courts. “Today, we were reading in Lucknow what happened. They filed forged documents and the court was compelled to summon the original record and when the original record came, they ran away….”, said Justice Nath.
Earlier this week, the Allahabad High Court junked a plea by a NEET aspirant after it was revealed that she submitted forged documents alleging that the NTA failed to declare her result. The candidate had also claimed that her OMR answer sheet was torn. Kaushik clarified that he had not filed a transfer petition in this matter. “In the meantime, let the proceedings before the high courts remain stayed”, said Justice Nath, after hearing NTA’s counsel.
The bench then started hearing several fresh petitions in connection with irregularities in the NEET-UG exam. The apex court, earlier this month, had issued notice on similar petitions and listed them for hearing on July 8.
“You want a re-examination, you want a CBI inquiry, you want a court appointed judge inquiry, what do you want?”, Justice Nath queried a counsel, representing one of the petitioners’. The counsel argued that the 12 petitioners’ are similarly placed as 1563 students’, who were awarded grace marks, who appeared in centres of Meghalaya and lost 40-45 minutes in the exam. The bench issued notice and tagged these petitions with the matters, which are listed for hearing on July 8. The bench told NTA and Centre to file their response in two weeks’.
A counsel argued that it is unprecedented that 67 persons scored full marks in the exam and candidates’ who have scored more than 680 marks, must be subjected to some academic background check. The bench said NTA knows how to travel backwards and told the counsel, “all this has been argued from day one, they wanted stay on the counselling and we have denied that. Ultimately, if you succeed the examination will go and the counselling will also go”.
Another counsel made submissions challenging the validity of holding of retest for the candidates who were awarded grace marks. The NTA had scrapped the grace marks and scheduled a retest on June 23. “All that will be considered on July 8…..”, said Justice Nath, while declining to pass a direction regarding the schedule of retest. However, the bench issued notice on this plea.
Advocate Sumeer Sodhi, appearing on behalf of the Unacademy, argued that the Supreme Court should not rely on the reports submitted by the Grievance Redressal Committee and the High-Powered Committee since the High-Powered Committee is chaired by the chairman of the NTA and therefore there is a clear conflict of interest. Sodhi urged the court to form an independent committee and cited the Adani-Hindenburg case, where the apex court had formed an independent committee. “SEBI investigated and there was also an expert body committee was made….In the meantime, there are a lot of students’….”, said the counsel. After hearing submissions, the bench issued notice on the plea and tagged it with the petitions listed on July 8.
The announcement of the NEET-UG 2024 results on June 4 sparked significant backlash from both students and their parents.
