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NEET-UG retest must be on concrete footing that sanctity of entire exam was affected, says Supreme Court
The court asked the petitioners to prove that the paper leak in the NEET-UG exam was systematic and affected the entire examination process.
Hearing a clutch of petitions on the NEET-UG case, the Supreme Court on Thursday observed that any order regarding conducting the medical exam again must have a “concrete footing” that the sanctity of the entire exam had been affected.
A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwla and Manoj Misra, commenced the crucial hearing on a batch of petitions linked to the NEET-UG 2024. The bench observed that the exam has "social ramifications".
The court asked the petitioners to prove that the paper leak in the NEET-UG exam was systematic and affected the entire examination process, warranting the cancellation of the medical entrance exam.
"We will open the case today. Lakhs of young students are waiting for this, let us hear and decide," the court said as the hearing began.
"Re-examination has to be on concrete footing that the sanctity of the entire test was affected," the CJI said.
The bench said the CBI is probing the paper leak.
"If what the CBI has told us is revealed, it will affect the investigation and people will become wise," it added.
Arguing that there had been a systemic failure in conducting the NEET-UG exam, the petitioners' lawyer said the transportation of question papers got compromised when the papers were in the hands of a private courier company for six days. The papers were being transported in an e-rickshaw in Hazaribagh. Instead of taking it to the bank, the driver took it to the Oasis school, where the school principal received this trunk, he added.
Also read: No systemic failure in NEET-UG: NTA in Supreme Court
The lawyer told the court that the leaked papers were in circulation from May 3 itself, two days ahead of the entrance exam. He said evidence from Telegram videos shows that the solved papers were being circulated on May 4.
Later, CJI Chandrachud observed that the paper leak was carried out to earn money, not to make a national charade.
"People were doing it for money. So, it was not to bring disrepute to the exam and somebody was doing it to make money which is evident now. Mass leakage of paper requires contacts also at that level so that you connect to all such key contacts in different cities etc. Anybody who is making money out of it won't circulate it mass scale," he said.
The Centre and the NTA have submitted to the court that the paper leak was localised and scrapping the exam would "seriously jeopardise" the efforts of lakhs of honest candidates in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality.
After the paper leak scandal came to light, the Centre handed over the case to the CBI. Over a dozen people have been arrested in Bihar and Jharkhand.
With inputs from PTI, ANI
