The Supreme Court has deferred its hearing on contrasting petitions regarding the NEET-UG retest, amid allegations of irregularities in the examination. In the meantime, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met with students from both sides to hear their concerns.
During a 30-minute meeting, sources reported that Mr Pradhan assured the students that injustice would not be tolerated under any circumstances. He emphasised that the government is taking several steps to ensure that such irregularities do not occur in future exams.
Some students argued that it would be unfair to penalise those who have not engaged in cheating by requiring them to sit for a retest. Others, however, believed the irregularities were widespread enough to necessitate one.
Approximately 24 lakh students sat for the NEET-UG 2024 for undergraduate medical courses, which was conducted by the National Testing Agency on 5 May. The results were announced on 4 June, ten days ahead of schedule, but allegations of question paper leaks and grace marks awarded to over 1,500 students sparked protests. Cases were also filed in courts, including the Supreme Court.
Mr Pradhan informed the students that since the matter is now before the Supreme Court, the government will act based on its decision. He stated that the Education Ministry has presented its case before the court, and the final decision rests with the judges.
In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the Centre stated that a comprehensive analysis of the results had revealed no large-scale malpractice or evidence of a specific group of candidates benefiting. The Union government reiterated its stance that it does not intend to hold a retest of the medical entrance exam. Conducting a retest based on “unsubstantiated suspicions,” it argued, would burden nearly 24 lakh students.
The Centre informed the court of its intention to start the counselling process for NEET-UG, the final stage for admissions, in four phases from the third week of July. If any candidate is found to have benefited from irregularities, their counselling will be cancelled at any phase or even afterward.
The data analysis was carried out by experts from IIT Madras and revealed an overall increase in marks obtained by students, particularly in the range of 550 to 720. This rise was observed across cities and centres. The Centre attributed this increase to a 25% reduction in syllabus.
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During a hearing on Monday, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud expressed reluctance to order a re-test for nearly 24 lakh students, many of whom come from poor families and cannot afford to travel to exam centres unless absolutely necessary. A re-test is the “last option,” the bench noted.
“One thing is clear… questions were leaked. The sanctity of the exam has been compromised… this is beyond doubt. Now we have to establish the extent of the leak,” the Chief Justice said.
Another hearing, initially scheduled for Thursday, has been deferred to 18 July.
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