The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order the re-test in NEET-UG exams saying that a re-examination cannot not be justified based on the material available on record. The top court said that the fact that a paper leak in NEET-UG Exam took place at Hazaribagh and Patna is not in dispute.
CJI DY Chandrachud while dictating order said that the court realises that directing a fresh NEET-UG for the present year would be replete with serious consequences which will be for over 24 lakh students who appeared in this exam and cause disruption of admission schedule.
He further added that a re-test will also have a cascading effect on the course of medical education, impact on availability of qualified medical professionals in the future and seriously disadvantageous for the marginalised group for whom reservation was made in allocation of seats.
"Thus we are of the view that ordering cancellation of the entire exam is neither justified on application of settled principles propounded by this court on the basis of material on record," CJI said.
The top court took note of the CBI status report dated July 10, 2024 and July 21, 2024.
The order noted that the disclosures by CBI indicate that investigation is still continuing, however, CBI's status report at this stage indicate that around 150 students appear to be the beneficiaries of the fraud. The court said that since the investigation has not reached finality, this court had asked the Centre to show if any trends showed leak or red flag across Centre to indicate a widespread leak. Pursuant to which the Centre provided IIT-Madras Report.
"The court has independently scrutinised the data...At the present stage it is not possible for the court to arrive at a conclusion which shows that the results of the exam is vitiated. " CJI said while pronouncing verdict.
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The court held that the data on record is not indicative of a systemic leak of the question paper which would indicate a disruption of the sanctity of the exam.
The top court further said that tainted students can be differentiated from the untainted studentsin this case and if the probe reveals an increased number of beneficiaries then action shall be taken against any such student at any stage not withstanding the completion of counselling process.
"No student who is revealed to have been in this fraud or a beneficiary would be entitled to claim any vested right in continuance of admission," the apex court said.
The court also directed the NTA to re-tally the exam result based on the correct answer to one 4 marker "ambigous question" in the NEET-UG exam of 2024, where the NTA gave marks to all students who either marked option 4 or option 2 as correct answer. One answer was correct based on old NCERT and another based on New NCERT.
"In view of the expert determination we have no manner of doubt with regard to the correct option. Options 2 and 4 are mutually exclusive and cannot stand together. WE accept IIT Delhi report and accordingly, NTA shall re-tally the NEET UG result on the basis that option 4 represents the only correct answer to the question. We have not indicated the number of the question since number of question may vary as per procedure followed in the exam to preserve the integrity of the process."
Arguments In Court
Senior Advocate Hooda appearing for petitioners seeking a retest had contended in court that Sanjiv Mukhiya who is the main accused in the paper leak is involved in several other paper leaks. Hooda told the court that Mukhiya who is yet to be arrested is the mastermind of a gang that operates across several states. He questioned how Centre could take a firm stand that the leak was not widespread and was restricted to only Hazribagh and Patna when investigation was still on.
He said that 161 statements of the accused to Patna police shows that the paper was leaked before May 5. Hooda asked the court what happens if CBI investigation further unearths evidence
The CJI however asked if the court could order a re-test when investigation is not complete and that there is a possibility that the leak is confined to only two places.
"We are dealing with 23 lakh students, we have to see both sides, let us put it both ways. A CBI probe in future may reveal a different picture...but equally we cannot today say with any degree of prima facie nature that leak has gone beyond Patna and Hazaribagh to show that it is systemic and spread across the country," CJI asked while hearing.
The petitioners also challenged the IIT-Madras data and its credibility. They also alleged a conflict of interest as IIT-Madras chairman was an ex-officio member of NTA. However, NTA told the court that said person never attended any meetings and always sent a representative.
Hooda also argued on the systemic failure of NTA in conducting examinations. He cited instances of Jhajjar, Ghaziabad, and Sawai Madhopur. "Even if 1,000 candidates are beneficiaries in this then re-test has to happen. Integrity has actually gone," Hooda prayed.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde told the court that if today, the top court decides not to order a re-test because it appears to be localised, then it will set a precedent for future.
Senior Advocate Mathews Nedumbara requested the court to conduct a final examination and let the May 4 test be treated as a preliminary exam. He argued that it is established that there has been a paper leak and there should be a re-test. He said that the government has treated the court unfairly by passing the buck to the top court. He told the court that despite being a BJP supporter, he does not agree with the government's stand in the case. He said the government should have taken a call on cancellation, and it very conveniently passed the public matter to court.
The court heard several other petitioners with varying prayers.
A lawyer submitted that any order of re-test will cause hardships to the students who come from marginalised communities. Another lawyer told the court that many students who did not score well are also making false cases. He cited a case of Allahabad High court where a student had alleged that her OMR was torn and her result was withheld and later released via e-mail. The allegations were found to be false.
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