Supreme Court Reviews NEET-UG 2024 Controversies Amid Allegations of Irregularities

The Supreme Court has begun hearings on petitions related to the NEET-UG 2024 exam amidst controversy. The NTA admitted to a question paper leak. Initial analysis shows irregular performance patterns at certain test centers. Decisions on the fate of over 23 lakh students hinge on these proceedings.

The Supreme Court on Monday commenced hearing on a batch of petitions concerning the controversy-laden medical entrance exam, NEET-UG 2024.

The court was informed by a counsel for NEET-UG aspirants that the National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting the exam, has admitted to a paper leak and the distribution of the 'leaked question paper' via WhatsApp.

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with justices JB Pardiwla and Manoj Misra, queried the counsel on the implications from the centre-wise and city-wise exam results.

Proceedings are ongoing, and initial analysis revealed that candidates alleged to have benefited from the paper leak performed poorly. However, some centers showed high concentrations of top-performing students.

The NTA released extensive data covering over 32 lakh candidates from 4,750 centers in a non-cumulative format as directed by the Supreme Court, which is handling multiple petitions regarding the alleged irregularities as millions await a final verdict.

Performance analyses from centers under scrutiny, such as Oasis School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, Hardayal Public School in Jhajjar, Haryana, and Jay Jalaram International School in Godhra, Gujarat, indicated subpar results.

The bench directed the NTA to publish center and city-wise results by noon on July 20, masking the identities of the aspirants.

The court seeks to determine if candidates from the questioned centers scored higher marks.

Over 40 cases, including those filed by the NTA, are being heard to consolidate litigations regarding exam irregularities at the Supreme Court.

More than 23.33 lakh students took the test on May 5 across 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 overseas locations.

The Centre and NTA argued that canceling the exam would be counterproductive and harm honest candidates, given no substantial proof of a large-scale confidentiality breach.

NEET-UG, conducted by the NTA, is vital for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and related courses in both government and private institutions nationwide.

(With inputs from agencies.)