The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant a stay on the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 exam. However, the court agreed to issue notice on the plea seeking NEET-UG exams to be conducted afresh in light of the alleged malpractices and paper leak of the exam.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra agreed to consider the matter and posted it for hearing after the summer vacations in July. The Chief Justice noted that the results of an all-India exam cannot be stayed at the moment. Senior Advocate Narendre Hooda represented the petitioners who have alleged that there has been a paper leak of the NEET UG exams and that this would amount to unfair practices hampering the quality of the result.
The plea submitted that the examination held on May 5 by the National Testing Agency (NTA) was embroiled with malpractices as several instances of paper leak came to the knowledge of the petitioner. It added that the alleged paper leak was violative of Article 14 as it gave an undue advantage to some candidates over others who chose to attempt the exam in a fair manner.
It further underlined that the NEET UG paper leak infringes upon the fundamental right to equality and equal opportunities guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution of India as paper leak gives unfair advantage to some selected group of students, compromising the rights of other meritorious students.
It also submitted that the paper leak undermines the merit-based selection process for medical colleges, affecting the future of countless aspiring doctors. It noted that the leakage skews the results in favour of those who had access to the leaked papers, disregarding the efforts of honest and meritorious candidates.
The petitioner urged the top court to issue a writ order or direction in nature of Mandamus directing the National Testing Agency to conduct fresh NEET UG examination-2024 after adopting necessary measures to prevent paper leak and other malpractice.
It also asked the apex court to issue a writ, order or directions in the nature of Mandamus directing all the states to submit status reports concerning NEET UG 2024 paper leak in their respective jurisdiction.
Furthermore, it sought appropriate guidelines to prevent any further incidents of paper leaks or administrative errors. It sought orders directing all the states to establish SITs to investigate the incidents of NEET UG 2024 paper leak and submit reports in a time bound manner.