NEET-UG 2024 row: SC rules out 'systemic breach' in exam, says leak limited

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled out the possibility of a “systemic breach” in the controversial NEET-UG 2024 exam and added that the leak was only limited to Patna and Hazaribagh.

The court also criticised the operating body National Testing Agency and asked it to fix the "loopholes."
 

The top court’s remark followed amid the ongoing hearing in the case linked to irregularities in the key graduate-level entrance exams meant to admit students into medical courses in Indian institutes.

The NEET or National Entrance cum Eligibility Test conducted on May 5 this year, triggered a huge uproar after aspirants alleged that the exam was likely compromised due to suspected paper leaks.

Many petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, some demanding a fair test of the exam, after an unprecedented 67 students had emerged as toppers in the exam result, declared on June 4. After the apex court’s intervention in the row, the latest updated merit list now features 17 toppers.

Last week, the top court had refused to order a retest of the NEET-UG exam, stating that any evidence of a systemic breach of the exam’s sanctity was yet to be found.

The matter is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has made several arrests related to the exam paper leak. Earlier today, the agency filed its first charge sheet in the paper leak case, naming 13 people as accused. In its investigation, the agency found the involvement of an interstate gang, alleged to be involved in leaking the exam paper a day before the test in exchange for huge sums of money.

The issue also turned into a political slugfest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition, as the latter intensified its target against the Centre, asking for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

Moreover, three states—Karnataka, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu—have passed resolutions in their state assemblies, demanding the Centre scrap the NEET exam and subsequently allow the states to conduct their own examinations.