The Centre has submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court professing that re-conducting NEET-UG 2024 is not needed as there is no evidence of widespread irregularities in the examination.
The government emphasised that cancelling the exam would “seriously jeopardise” the future of the many honest candidates who attempted the NEET-UG 2024 exam.
The Union government has also requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a comprehensive probe into the alleged irregularities surrounding NEET-UG.
The examination, organized by the National Testing Agency (NTA), is crucial for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in both government and private institutions.
The integrity of NEET-UG has been called into question due to accusations of paper leaks and other malpractices, leading to widespread protests and political tensions. On June 11, the Supreme Court, while considering a plea for a re-exam, expressed concerns about the exam’s sanctity and sought responses from the Centre and the NTA. However, it declined to halt the counseling process for successful candidates.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud is set to hear a series of petitions on July 8, which call for various forms of relief, including a re-test and a thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct. In the meantime, over 50 successful NEET-UG candidates from Gujarat have approached the Supreme Court, requesting a directive to prevent the Centre and the NTA from canceling the exam.
This plea, filed by Siddharth Komal Singla and 55 other students through lawyer Devendra Singh, argued that re-conducting NEET-UG would be unreasonable and harsh on diligent students, infringing upon their Right to Education and violating Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.
The plea said, “The Hon’ble court may further direct the respondents (Centre and the NTA) not to re-conduct NEET-UG … as that would not only be unreasonable and harsh for the honest and hardworking students but also would lead to the infringement of the Right to Education and therefore violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.”
The government’s postponement of the NEET-PG examination and cancellation of the UGC-NET has heightened scrutiny of competitive exams in India due to alleged irregularities. So far, the CBI has made six arrests in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case.