The SC halts High Court cases amid students' arrests II VYGR

June 20: The Supreme Court on Thursday halted all proceedings on the alleged leaks and malpractices of the NEET-UG 2024 row in various High Courts. Petitions were filed in Rajasthan, Calcutta, Bombay and other High Courts regarding this matter. A Vacation Bench consisting of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) about the pleas filed and directed them to transfer all NEET-related petitions from seven High Courts to the Supreme Court for a joint hearing. The Court also refused to stay the counselling process for the exam.

In addition, the top court sent notices to the NTA and the Center about petitions asking for a court-monitored investigation into the alleged anomalies in the medical entrance test as well as the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024. By July 8, when the case is scheduled to be heard again, the bench has sought a response.

NEET 2024 Paper leak claims: Students arrested in Bihar

The controversial matter of anomalies in NEET has taken a new turn after four men who were arrested in Bihar admitted that the day before, the medical entrance exam question paper had been leaked. Aspirant Anurag Yadav, Sikandar Yadavendu, a junior engineer at the Danapur Municipal Council (and Anurag Yadav's uncle), and two other men, Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand, are among the four individuals arrested from Bihar. They confessed that they had to memorize the question paper after receiving it the day before the test. They added that the same questions were asked in the exam the next day in a statement to the Bihar police.

"I was made to read and memorize it at night. When I went for the exam, I found the same questions which I had memorized correctly. After the exam, the police came and caught me, and I confessed my crime." - Anurag Yadav

June 19: The controversy over the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2024, which continues to be strong, has been ignited by the confession written by an engineer employed by Bihar's Danapur Town Council (Danapur Nagar Parishad). The engineer, who went by Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, revealed in his confession letter that he had helped four NEET applicants and one of their guardians stay in Patna. In his letter, the engineer claimed to have been in contact with a syndicate that skilfully leaked out test questions for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), and NEET.

Evidence also points to a "Mantri Ji," who is said to have set up the accommodation of a NEET candidate, his mother, and other partners in a Patna government mansion. The candidate, Anurag Yadav, happens to be the engineer’s nephew. Anurag's name was verified by the bookings when an India Today team visited the Bihar location where the contestants stayed.

Opposition’s Protests

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protested the alleged NEET exam cheating for the second day in a row. They gathered outside Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's home today. Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of AIMIM, has criticized the NDA administration in the Centre over the claimed anomalies in NEET and called for a re-examination supervised by the Supreme Court. The opposition has been calling for a retake of the NEET UG ever since the results were released and the alleged anomalies were made public.

Also read: NEET-UG: AAP Stages A Protest At Jantar Mantar Demanding An SC-Monitored Probe

On the other hand, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has informed the Union Education Ministry that the examinees from Patna and Godhra who are being investigated for allegedly benefiting from irregularities do not seem to have had any special advantage based on a study of their grades.

Eight of the 13 Patna candidates who the Bihar Police are investigating for alleged paper leaks have received less than 500 out of 720. A 650 out of 720 score is generally considered the minimum required to secure a spot in a government medical college under the all-India quota. When drafting its response to the Supreme Court, which will hear several petitions over the administration of the medical entrance exam on July 8, the Union government will consider this analysis.

Allahabad High Court Notice

In a recent NEET UG 2024 update, NEET candidate Ayushi Patel's writ petition was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court. This ruling was made after it was discovered that Patel had included falsified paperwork with her petition. At first, Patel claimed that because her OMR answer sheet was ripped, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had withheld her result.

Also read: NEET-UG: Even If There Is 0.001% Negligence, It Should Be Dealt With, Says SC To NTA And The Centre

Inputs: Agencies

Image Source: Multiple agencies