Supreme Court issues notice in the NEET-UG 2024 Case II VGYR

NEET-UG 2024: The Supreme Court of India, on Tuesday, June 11, scheduled a hearing about the petition seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 Examination and holding of a re-examination over an alleged paper leak. Several other petitions had been filed, including one alleging arbitrariness in granting grace marks. Earlier, on May 17, while considering another petition seeking re-examination on grounds of paper leak, the Bench led by the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud had refused to stay the declaration of the NEET-UG 2024 Results.

One of the petitions before the Supreme Court specifically mentioned allegations regarding the paper leak in Patna and that incorrect question papers were sent to applicants in Rajasthan. The petitioners also expressed concerns about 67 pupils from one centre receiving a complete score of 720. It is also noted that there have been various complaints about the National Testing Agency's tentative answer key, which was published on April 29. Courts like the Calcutta High Court and the Delhi High Court have previously sought NTA’s response to the allegations.

A Vacation Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah issued notice on one of the petitions.

What are the petitioners seeking? They primarily seek a re-examination to be conducted by the National Testing Agency. They further request a hold on the NEET-UG 2024 admissions counselling until the inquiry into the alleged paper leak is finished.

The Supreme Court’s Notice

On June 11, the Supreme Court sought the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) response on the matter. The Bench added,

“Sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 has been affected, We need answers.”

The Bench refused to stop the counselling process for the Undergraduate course.
The case has been listed to continue on July 8 along with a similar pending petition.

Meanwhile, the petitioners have garnered the support of Opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party. The Aam Aadmi Party has also demanded a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the matter.

Inputs: Agencies

Image Source: Multiple agencies