A three-judge bench consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justices J B Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra is scheduled to heard the 38 petitions related to the NEET UG 2024 today.
After hearing the petitions, CJI gave the petitioners two day's time to combine all the submissions. The bench will hear the matter on Thursday July 11.
CJI said, "Request has been made list the matters for further hearing on Thursday. Report of the IO (CBI) be placed on record in the meantime...We want all petitioners' lawyers, asking for a re-test, to give us one set of submissions on Wednesday. We want you all to sit down and give us one consolidated set of submissions not exceeding 10 pages."
As reported by LiveLaw, the CJI in its order directed the NTA to make full disclosure. CJI said, as per LiveLaw, "It can broadly be classified into 3 aspects: (1) nature of leak (2) places where leak took place and (3) lag of time between occurrence of leak and conduct of exam." NTA was also asked to make a full disclosure on the steps taken so far for identification of beneficiaries on their part and whether it is feasible to identify suspect cases using data analytics.
Additionally, SC also asked the committee set up to review NEET UG 2024 to submit full details to the court.
It also sought a status report from CBI.
Furthermore, the SC recognised the fact that the paper leak did take place. The CJI has sought an answer on how the NTA sends question papers for printing, and how they are distributed. “When were the papers pulled out? What time was the exam? How were the papers distributed abroad? When were they sent abroad? How were they sent to embassies? Diplomatic bag or courier?, the CJI has asked, as reported by LiveLaw.
The apex court also further told NTA to not defer the fact that the paper leak indeed took place. CJI said, "Is it NTA's case that there was no leak? This fact can't be disputed."
The NEET UG 2024 exam was mired with controversies after allegations of paper leak and irregularities in the conduct of exam. The NEET UG 2024 was held on May 5 and the results were announced on June 5.
Originally scheduled for June 14, the results were announced on June 4 due to the early completion of the answer sheet evaluation.
Allegations of irregularities, including paper leaks, have sparked protests in several cities and clashes between opposing political parties.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is administered by the NTA for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses at government and private institutions throughout the country.
