The Supreme Court stated that a re-conduct of the 2024 NEET-UG exam, held on May 5 for entrance to undergraduate medical courses, would only be possible if it was proven that the “sanctity” of the test had been compromised on a large scale due to leaked questions. This assertion came during the hearing of over 40 petitions requesting a re-test. Echoing observations from last week, the court emphasized the need for clear evidence of widespread malpractice.
The court also addressed petitions from the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting competitive exams, which sought to transfer cases filed by various state police forces to their respective High Courts to prevent potential duplication and confusion.
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Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, leading the bench, insisted on evidence that the leak had systematically affected the entire examination to warrant cancellation. “Merely because, of 23 lakh students, only one lakh will get admission… we cannot order a re-examination,” he said, seeking clear direction for the investigation.
The NTA highlighted that out of the petitioners, 131 students who did not secure admission were demanding a re-test, while 254 students opposed it. Senior advocate Narender Hooda, representing the petitioners, argued that the lack of exam results handicapped their data analytics. He also pointed to a potential conflict of interest involving a governing body member from IIT Madras.
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Solicitor General Tushar Mehta countered this, clarifying the governing body’s non-involvement in the exam’s conduct. He also defended the data analysis by IIT Madras, which showed a normal distribution of marks and no abnormality despite an overall increase in scores due to a 25 percent syllabus reduction.
Hooda contended that the data analysis should have focused on the 1.08 lakh students who passed rather than the entire 24 lakh, arguing that granular variations indicating cheating might be missed with a larger data set.
The controversy erupted following allegations of a leaked question paper orchestrated by a national ‘solver gang’ network. The unusually high number of perfect scores and the award of ‘grace marks’ to 1,563 students raised red flags. The government’s affidavit, based on IIT Madras’ analysis, insisted there was no evidence of mass malpractice or that candidates benefited from cheating.
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The Chief Justice read out the top 100 ranks, showing a spread of toppers across different regions, which the NTA cited as evidence against an abnormal spike in any particular center. However, the CBI, tasked with investigating the case, has already filed six cases and arrested nine individuals, including the alleged mastermind Rakesh Ranjan.
The NEET-UG controversy has sparked a political row, with the Congress-led opposition criticizing the ruling BJP in Parliament, leading to chaotic debates and interruptions.
