Supreme Court Issues Notice to NTA and Center on Pleas Seeking Investigation into NEET 2024

The NTA has announced the re-conduction of NEET-UG on June 23 for 1,563 students who were given grace marks. Moreover, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre and NTA in response to a plea for a CBI probe into alleged question paper leaks and other irregularities in NEET UG 2024. The Economic Offences Unit in Bihar is investigating allegations of a paper leak in NEET and has stated that their investigation points towards a possible paper leak.

In response to requests for a committee led by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge or an investigation agency to look into claims of question paper leaks and discrepancies in the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024, the Supreme Court on June 14 ordered the National Testing Agency and the Center to reply.

Also Read: NEET-UG 2024: Amid paper leak allegations, NTA to conduct re-exam for 1,563 grace mark candidates

Petitioners urged the "imminent need for a CBI investigation" in their appearance before a Vacation Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. "Can a CBI investigation be ordered ex parte today? Is that what you submitted? Let them file their response; we are not rejecting your relief," Justice Nath said to the attorneys representing a number of petitioners.

On June 14, the Supreme Court ordered the National Testing Agency and the Center to reply to requests for an investigation into claims of question paper leaks and inconsistencies in the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 by a committee led by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge or an investigative agency.

Petitioners urged the "imminent need for a CBI investigation" when they appeared before a Vacation Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

They claimed anomalies such as students' scores on their scorecards and OMR sheets differing; an unprecedented increase in the cut-off and average marks leading to an unprecedented 67 candidates scoring 720/720; six of these top scorers came from the same Haryana exam center; students scoring 718 and 719 marks, which is "statistically questionable"; no disclosure of the procedure or standards used to grant compensatory marks for time lost; etc.

Also Read: NEET politics begins: Congress questions Modi’s silence on Vyapam-like exam scam

The re-exam was decided to be held by NTA. Justice Nath corrected a lawyer who had claimed that the NTA was carrying out the court's directive on June 13: "We stated in the order that it was the right way to do things."

In order to transfer cases that are pending in different High Courts to the Supreme Court, the NTA has also separately petitioned the highest court. In response to NTA's transfer petitions, the Bench sent notice.

In the meantime, the Supreme Court maintained its position throughout the hearing that the counseling date should not be changed from July 6. A lawyer requested that it be moved to July 9, one day following the July 8 hearing before the supreme court.