The Supreme Court is expected to pass a speaking order today dismissing petitions which had pleaded for the scrapping and re-conducting of the controversial NEET-UG examination.
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What actually happened at NEET-UG 2024?
Source: dnpindia
The number of candidates who appeared in that examination for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Undergraduate 2024 crossed 23 lakh, all those seeking entry into prestigious courses of medical study: MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH.
Held on 5th May, the examination soon turned out to be a hub of controversies as the reports of massive malpractices began to pour in. Wide-ranging allegations cropped up in relation to cheating and irregularity during the examination, including use of unfair means used by some of the candidates, question paper leaks, impersonation.
Such malpractices brought up serious questions on the fairness and sanctity of the examination process, which forms the basis for selecting eligible candidates for various medical and dental courses in India.
The conduct of the examination is vested with the NTA, hence an independent body, and the NDA government at the Centre were at the receiving end of the public ire because of their insouciant attitude to the situation. Critics highlighted poor security measures and systemic failures that supposedly perpetuated the malpractices.
Public outcry was seen through protests by students and parents and numerous student organisations, all demanding that explanations be made, and punitive measures be taken against the erring personnel and officials. Several cities saw protests by students who demonstrated on the streets, showing the increasing frustration among the community of students.
It also ignited debates inside the parliament where the opposition parties took to hitting out at the approach adopted by the government and wanted full-fledged investigations into the matter.
The incident squirted off a very much needed debate on reforms in the examination system in India so that in the future, such incidents can be nullified and a clear and safe path can be paved out for all aspirants.
Involvement of the Supreme Court:
After the serious allegations, several petitions were filed in the apex court demanding to cancel the examination and have a re-test of the same. The intervention of the Court itself gave an indication that the controversy must be resolved on legal and systematic grounds.
In near future, the detailed judgement from the Supreme Court is likely to consider all such concerns and seek clarity with regard to the controversy, more specifically, the reasons for dismissal of the petition.
A Bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud passed an interim order last month in a clutch of petitions that sought the re-examination of NEET-UG 2024 in light of the allegations relating to paper leaks, in order to maintain the sanctity of the examination.
The Supreme Court had, in turn, heard arguments by a battery of lawyers—of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the Centre and the National Testing Agency, and of senior advocates Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde and Mathews Nedumpara for the petitioners.
Keeping in mind the urgency and fact of the matter that it would have affected millions of students, the bench did not reserve its order, reassembling in the late evening to pronounce its order.
In the interim order, Chief Justice Chandrachud said: “The data produced by NTA and others before us does not prima facie support any claim of a systemic leak or large scale fraud so as to warrant cancellation of the examination.”
Judgement of the Supreme Court:
The court, while acknowledging the confirmed leaks in Hazaribagh and Patna, underlined that a differentiated approach was needed to be taken in this regard so as to segregate the students who were affected by the leak.
The court said a re-test would have far-reaching consequences by way of delaying the admission schedule, upsetting medical education, and causing further disadvantage to backward classes as they would be adversely affected by the policy of reservation.
The Bench held that while malpractices did take place, the extent of malpractices was not so large as to result in the cancellation of the entire examination.
The bench said that cancellation of the entire examination was not justified on the basis of “settled principles propounded by this court on the basis of material on record.”
With respect to a disputed physics question in the examination, the court admitted an expert report from IIT Delhi which endorsed that there existed only one correct answer.
“In light of the experts’ determination we have no manner of doubt as to the correct option. We accept the IIT Delhi report, and accordingly, the NTA shall re-tally the NEET-UG result based on the conclusion that option 4 is the only correct answer to the question,” the court said.
Role of the CBI:
Source: theweek.in
The CBI has filed its first charge sheet in the paper leak case, naming 13 individuals as accused.
The first chargesheet has been filed against Nitish Kumar, Amit Anand, Sikander Yadvendu, Ashutosh Kumar-1, Roshan Kumar, Manish Prakash, Ashutosh Kumar-2, Akhilesh Kumar, Avdesh Kumar, Anurag Yadav, Abhishek Kumar, Shivnandan Kumar, and Ayush Raj.
Thursday, the CBI spokesperson added, “We have applied state-of-the-art forensic techniques, artificial intelligence technology, CCTV footage, tower location analysis, among others, for the collection of evidence against the accused.”
Link to the X account post by an account dedicated to posting about the NEET-UD leak:
https://twitter.com/neetleak/status/1819227917412454481?t=oCXa62Fk6mQx8Ia3JN0f-w&s=08
