NEET-UG Row: Students Protests, Legal Battle; the Story Continues…
The affair of NEET UG examination, on which the future of twenty three lakh students depends, is taking a turn day by day. Dozens of Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court of the country as well as in the High Courts of many states. The future of the students depends on what the Supreme Court says about these petitions alleging irregularities in the NEET entrance exam.
A controversy has erupted after the NEET results declared on June 4 showed an unprecedented number of perfect scores. A total of 67 students achieved the maximum score of 720, a significant increase compared to previous years. Interestingly, six top-scoring 720/720 students reportedly took the exam at the same center in Haryana.
What’s the Latest Development?:
Two major developments happened in this regard. The Supreme Court on Friday (June 14) fixed July 8 as the date for hearing the petition seeking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the NEET UG entrance exam case. On July 8, the Supreme Court will hear a petition from the National Testing Agency (NTA) asking for the transfer of cases pertaining to the NEET-UG controversy from various High Courts throughout the nation, in addition to the appeal demanding a CBI investigation.
SC to Consider Transfer of NEET-UG cases:
The Apex court issued notice on a plea filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) seeking the transfer of a petition pending before the Delhi Court pertaining to an alleged NEET (UG) paper leak to the apex court.
Agreeing to examine NTA’s transfer plea, a vacation bench of the apex court presided over by Justice Vikram Nath sought the response of the candidate who had instituted a writ petition before the Delhi HC alleging a paper leak and posted it for hearing on July 8. Before the Delhi High Court, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta on Wednesday submitted that NTA would file a transfer plea before the Supreme Court to consolidate all related petitions for a unified hearing.
NTA to Withdraw Petitions on Grace Marks:
The Bench, also comprising Justice Sandeep Mehta, allowed the withdrawal of other transfer petitions filed by NTA seeking transfer of writ petitions pending before various high courts pertaining to the award of compensatory marks in view of its earlier order passed on Thursday.
No Grace Marks, Re-Neet for 1563 Candidates, Centre to SC:
In an order passed on June 13, the Supreme Court decided to close the issue relating to the grant of grace marks in the NEET (UG) exam after NTA submitted the scorecards of 1563 candidates, who were awarded compensatory marks on account of the loss of time, had been withdrawn and cancelled.
1563 candidates were given an option to appear in a re-test to be held on June 23 or may appear in counselling on the basis of actual marks obtained in the exam without normalisation.
Protests Continue against Paper Leak:
In the wake of the alleged NEET exam paper leak, students voiced their concerns and demanded a re-examination and a thorough investigation. A group of students protested at the Hyderabad, Chennai, Kanpur, New Delhi (Jantar Manter) with the slogan "24 lakh students want exam, not scam" and a CBI Probe (fair investigation) into the paper leak matter.
On June 4, the National Testing Agency (NTA) released the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG). The Supreme Court on Tuesday (June 11) noted that the sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 had been affected, a charge denied by the NTA. The top court, however, refused to stay the counselling process for admissions.
