NEET UG Exam 2024 SC Hearing Highlights: The Supreme Court today announced that there will be no re-test for the NEET UG 2024 exam, despite acknowledging systemic deficiencies in the conduct of the exam. On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) confirmed to the Supreme Court that a paper leak had occurred at the Hazaribagh center. A CBI officer reported that some gadgets used by the involved gang were burnt, while others were recovered yesterday and are now under investigation.
Additionally, the CJI mentioned on Tuesday that they had received a report from IIT Delhi, led by Director Prof. Banerjee, confirming that option 4 is the correct answer for the disputed question. The Court has accepted the IIT Delhi report, and the National Testing Agency (NTA) will re-tally the NEET UG results based on this finding.
On Monday, the apex court directed the Director of IIT-Delhi to set up a team of three experts to examine a specific Physics question from the NEET-UG 2024 examination and submit a report on the correct answer by Tuesday noon. The court’s order to IIT Delhi to establish a team of three domain experts to address this issue came at the end of a day-long hearing on a batch of petitions. These petitions include requests for a re-test of the NEET-UG due to allegations of a question paper leak and other malpractices.
NEET UG 2024 highlights : Supreme Court hears pleas on controversy-ridden NEET-UG exam today. Follow real-time updates from the hearing here!
The official present in court explained that even those who paid for the leaked or solved paper did not have confirmation that the leaked paper would be used until after they wrote the exam. Consequently, only an advance payment was made, with the rest to be paid later.
The Chief Justice of India asked if there was evidence to indicate that the conspiracy was wider in Jharkhand and Bihar.
The official responded, “No, milords. So far, we have found that there were two locations in Hazaribagh and one location in Patna where the solved paper was shared. Within Patna, there was a sub-group involved.”
The Chief Justice of India questioned why the conspiracy was confined to such a small group of people if it had been planned two or three months back, noting that human greed would typically drive a desire to maximize profits. He asked why it was limited to only 25 students.
The Solicitor General explained that the conspirators did not want the paper to reach others or their identities to be widely known, which could lead to their arrest. They approached people individually, taking post-dated cheques and some amount in advance from those who fell into the trap. He noted that the post-dated cheques, which cannot be encashed, have been recovered.
‘There were 8 solvers and each solver was given 25 questions. These solvers did not carry mobile phones as they did not want the paper to reach to the people who had not paid,’ says Officer.
“It was revealed that there was tampering and a paper was replaced in the secured parcel. The Centre Superintendent and Coordinator, who signed the packet, were involved in this malpractice. Both have now been arrested, according to officials.
The Solicitor General described an incident at Oasis School, where between 8:02 and 9:23 AM, a person entered and opened a truck from the back, handing out exam papers to a group of solvers. CCTV footage captured this event. Eight solvers were given 20-25 questions each, and were ensured not to carry mobile phones to prevent the paper from spreading beyond those who paid them. After memorizing the questions, the solvers burned the papers. However, one piece of the paper remained unburned and was recovered by Bihar police. This paper had a number that belonged to a girl who had already complained that the paper she received was sealed using a lighter.
The Solicitor General emphasised that the exam papers are secured with a one-time tearable plastic bag, which cannot be resealed once opened. Each paper has a unique number, and every student is assigned a unique number. He highlighted an incident involving burnt papers from a center where students were allegedly asked to memorize questions. Additionally, there is an internal seal that is broken when the plastic bag is torn.
CJI DY Chandrachud announced that the court will now proceed to the investigation phase.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested attention to the first report and introduced the two CBI officers present in court: Mr. Krishna, Additional Director of CBI, and the DIG CBI, noting their comprehensive work.
He explained that the report details a sealed envelope system. Each paper and OMR sheet is secured in a single-use tearable plastic bag, and emphasized that there are seven layers of security implemented at various stages.
The Solicitor General explained that human error occurred at only 0.3% of over 4,000 centres. He stated that the rest of the centres functioned correctly, indicating that the system, as a whole, has worked effectively.
The Chief Justice of India asked if students need to provide any documentation or reason when requesting a change in their exam centre. The Solicitor General replied that, to his knowledge, no documentation is required.
The CJI inquired if students can choose any centre in the country. The Solicitor General confirmed that students can select their city, but not a specific centre. The NTA respects this choice and does not review the justifiability of requests for changes.
The Chief Justice of India noted that the success rate of candidates with the Canara Bank question papers is lower compared to those with the SBI papers.
The Solicitor General responded that the performance also depends on the students’ caliber. He added that experts are instructed to prepare all question papers with the same level of difficulty.
“Some centres chose to continue (to avoid loss of time) with the (Canara Bank) papers. The paper was at the same difficulty level with the SBI stored question papers,” says SG
The Supreme Court bench is currently discussing the performance of students who received the Canara Bank question paper. Chief Justice of India (CJI) has posed the following questions to the National Testing Agency (NTA) on July 22:
1. How many centres distributed the Canara Bank question papers?
2. At how many of these centres were the correct question booklets (SBI papers) replaced?
3. How many centres evaluated the Canara Bank question papers?
4. How did the candidates perform after the Canara Bank papers were evaluated?
The Solicitor General reported that no candidates from Godhra are receiving admissions.
The Chief Justice of India has requested to see the list of 1,563 candidates.
The Solicitor General confirmed that the details were prepared yesterday. The issue involved granting compensatory marks, which led to a re-test.
Sikar: At Gurukul International School, 715 students appeared for the NEET UG 2024. Of these, 101 students ranked within the top 56,000, resulting in a success rate of 14.30%. Within the top 100,000, 152 students were ranked, yielding a success rate of 21.16%. Factoring in reservations, this rate would likely be halved. The success rate in Sikar this year is 19.22%, slightly up from 19.19% last year, but down from 24.00% in 2022.
Kota: At Lal Bahadur Shastri School, 476 students appeared for the exam. Among them, 28 students ranked within the top 56,000. The success rate has remained stable over the past few years, with no significant increase observed.
During th hearing it was confirmed that students are allowed to choose any city for their exam, regardless of their residential address. The Solicitor General clarified that this approach accommodates students who might be residing temporarily in cities like Kota or Sikar for coaching purposes, as well as children of defense personnel who frequently relocate with their families. Therefore, the NTA has decided to eliminate the requirement for residential proof when selecting an exam city.
Rejecting claims from petitioners about clusters of toppers at certain centers, Mr. Mehta stated, “NEET coaching hubs such as Kottayam, Namakkal, Kota, and Rajkot are unique. These locations are known for their competitive exam coaching, attracting students from various regions. Their economies rely heavily on coaching, and students are given practice papers frequently. By the time they take NEET, it might be as if they have seen hundreds of practice papers. Despite this, there is no significant increase in the number of high scorers. The argument that these areas produce clusters of toppers does not appear to be substantiated.”
SG: “The decision to open the registration window was due to representations from students who were unable to register initially. An increase in enrollment simply makes the competition tougher and does not indicate any wrongdoing.”
SG: “Out of 24 lakh candidates, 14,000 applied for a change of city. While this number is relatively small, we have conducted an exercise to assess any potential wrongdoing. These students are spread across 4,020 centers. If any center was offering rewards for changes, it should have been concentrated in that center, but this is not the case.”
“All first statements seem to indicate that the leak takes place on the night of May 4,” said Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on July 22.
CJI: “This consists of 56,000 government colleges and 52,000 private colleges.”
SG: “To give you an idea of the pan-India impact, I have not deducted the reserved seats. The success rate for reserved seats would be almost half.”
Addressing allegations that students traveled to specific states or centers to cheat in the NEET exam, the Solicitor General revealed today that Bihar (Patna) has a success rate of 49.22%, while Hazaribagh in Jharkhand has a success rate of 47.28%.
In the Supreme Court, Mehta informed the court that qualifying marks are determined after the results are declared and represent the middle point of the number of students who appeared, which is 50 percentile. For the current year, the computer-generated qualifying mark for the unreserved category is 164 out of 720. This means students scoring above 164 are eligible for admission to 108,000 seats, while those scoring below 164 are not.
The Solicitor General explained that the percentile system is designed to prevent private colleges from admitting students who are not qualified or eligible under the payment scheme or otherwise.
“It is pertinent to point out that the qualifying marks for the previous year (2023) were only 137, which is significantly lower than this year. Thus, the overall result of all candidates has been much higher in 2024. This year, the number of students increased, this batch of 24 lakh students was more hardworking, and the syllabus was reduced,” Mehta emphasised.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) presented the following statistics in court:
1. A total of 23,33,162 candidates appeared for the NEET UG exam.
2. The cut-off mark for candidates ranked within 108,000 is 577, reflecting a success rate of 4.6%.
3. The cut-off mark for candidates ranked within 56,000 is 622, indicating a success rate of 2.4%.
4. There are approximately 1,08,000 seats available in medical colleges: 56,000 in government colleges and 52,000 in private colleges.
‘There are certain hubs like Kota, Sikar, Kottayam, Namakkal, Rajkot, for coaching centres of competitive exams and exams like UPSC, IIT-JEE etc. These students are given dummy papers every alternate day so that they are trained in such type of competitive exams. Like when they sit finally for NEET was the 201st exam probably,’ says Solicitor General.
“We must satisfy your conscience from stats and figures not through some social media or telegram video. Top 100 students are spread over 95 centre, 56 cities and 18 states and UTs”, says SG
Hooda: “They claim to be live monitoring the exams, but in Sawai Madhavpur, their systems failed. We only learned about the issues from social media after 2.5 hours of the exam.”
Hooda: “Their argument that they have CCTV monitoring is completely destroyed.”
SG: “They have only provided evidence from 2 to 5 centers and raised suspicions. Even if these suspicions are valid, they would pertain to those specific centers. I will address this separately.”
During the Supreme Court hearing on NEET UG 2024, Narender Hooda, representing the petitioners, revealed that the question paper was initially distributed incorrectly at some centers. He explained that at a few centers, the paper was given in different languages.
Hooda: “Then they decided to hold another examination on the same day from 6 to 9 PM.”
Chief Justice of India (CJI) inquired, “So, you’re saying that they administered the same question paper but in different languages?”
The CJI also asked about the number of students affected in Sawai Madhavpur, to which Hooda responded, “120. For Ghaziabad, the Union and NTA are in denial.”
Hooda explained that at some centers, the question paper was provided in different languages.
Hooda: “This occurred at two centers—Sawai Madhavpur in Rajasthan and Ghaziabad.”
Hooda: “The question paper was received 20 minutes late. It was held for the first 3 hours and then again for another 3 hours, so some individuals had the paper for a total of 6 hours on the same day.”
Hooda added, “Attempting the same question paper twice undermines the integrity of the exam. While some students get 3 hours and 20 minutes once, others get the same time twice on the same day, with the question paper remaining unchanged.”
The Solicitor General, representing the NTA, stated, “While instances have been cited from three or four centers, the Court is examining an issue involving approximately 24 lakh students. With a total of 4,750 centers, there is no PAN-India effect. The top 100 students are spread across 95 centers in 56 cities and 18 states/UTs.”
During the Supreme Court hearing, a counsel raised concerns about an individual’s reduced ranking.
SG: “Essentially, your lordships are examining whether there was a nationwide leakage or an incident of theft, which is our case.”
CJI: “Or, as Mr. Hooda argued, whether there are systemic flaws in the process that necessitate a redo of the entire exam.”