The Supreme Court postponed the hearing on petitions to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 exam to July 18, due to delays in receiving affidavits from the Centre and NTA. Originally scheduled for July 15, the adjournment was granted to allow petitioners time to respond to the affidavits filed on July 10. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's unavailability due to personal reasons prompted the rescheduling, with both Attorney General and SG confirming their unavailability on Monday and Tuesday. The bench chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, is hearing multiple petitions concerning anomalies and malpractices in the May 5 NEET-UG 2024 exam, with demands for a retake. Earlier, on July 8, the Supreme Court had expressed concerns over the exam's integrity being compromised.
In response to these concerns, the Centre informed the Court on July 11 that IIT Madras had conducted extensive data analytics on the exam results, finding no irregularities in the score distribution. The Centre also stated that claims of a paper leak, evidenced by a video circulated on Telegram, were false and the video had been doctored to appear as an early disclosure.
During recent proceedings, the bench queried the Centre and NTA about the extent of the alleged leak and the possibility of isolating culpable parties. The Court indicated that a retest might be necessary if the integrity of the entire exam was compromised and distinguishing between dishonest and honest candidates became impractical. However, the Court emphasized that a retest should be a last resort due to its impact on approximately 24 lakh students who took the exam on May 5 across numerous centers in India and abroad. NTA's NEET-UG 2024 is the admission exam for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other relevant courses at both public and private institutions across the country.
