Decision on NEET-UG 2024 re-test delayed as SC adjourns hearing to July 18

The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing in the NEET-UG 2024 case after noting that some of the parties had not yet received the latest affidavits filed by the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA). The case will now be heard on July 18, further delaying a decision on a clutch of petitions demanding the re-conduct of NEET-UG 2024 because of alleged paper leaks and other malpractices.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, deferred the hearing while putting on record that some of the advocates appearing for the petitioner candidates have complained about not receiving the affidavits filed by the Centre and NTA on Wednesday night. The bench, which also comprised justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, noted that the parties would need to go through the affidavits to apply their mind to the points raised in the affidavits before proceeding with the matter.

Following a plea from solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who represents the Centre in the dispute, citing his non-availability on July 15 and 16, the court scheduled the matter for hearing on July 18.

The CJI remarked that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which was handed over the probe in the matter on June 23, has also submitted a status report that would be considered on the next date.

In the affidavit submitted on Wednesday night, the Centre opposed the demand for a re-test of the NEET-UG 2024, citing a comprehensive report from IIT-Madras that refutes allegations of widespread malpractices or illicit benefits to candidates at select centres.

The Centre highlighted key findings from the IIT-Madras data analysis to assert the integrity of the NEET-UG 2024 examination process. The affidavit said the department of higher education requested IIT-Madras to conduct a detailed data analysis of the NEET-UG 2024 results to identify any suspected cases of malpractice and evaluate the spread of top-performing candidates.

IIT-Madras conducted the analysis of the top 140000 ranks for both 2023 and 2024 to detect any abnormalities. The Centre reported that this analysis aimed to determine if any centres or cities showed signs of undue advantage to a large number of students due to malpractices. The report, dated July 10, revealed no indications of mass malpractice or any localised set of candidates benefiting unduly. The distribution of high marks was consistent across various cities and centres.

“The analysis shows that there is neither any indication of mass malpractice nor a localised set of candidates being benefitted leading to abnormal scores. There is an overall increase in the marks obtained by students, specifically in the range of 550 to 720 (total score). This increase is seen across the cities and centres. This is attributed to a 25% reduction in syllabus. In addition, candidates obtaining such high marks are spread across multiple cities and multiple centres, indicating a very low likelihood of malpractice,” stated the affidavit.

The IIT-Madras report, endorsed by its director, maintained that the analysis of the 2023 and 2024 NEET-UG data could lead to an inference “with confidence that there has been no abnormality, which has affected the results.”

Supporting the Centre’s stance, NTA, which conducts NEET, filed a separate affidavit in the Supreme Court on Wednesday night. It said that so far only 47 candidates (17 in Patna and 30 in Godhra) have been suspected of involvement in paper leaks and irregularities relating to OMR sheets. The NTA affirmed it would rely on the findings of the IIT-Madras report during the court proceedings.

The NTA’s affidavit also addressed a video showing a purported leak of the NEET-UG exam paper on Telegram on May 4, declaring it fake. “Discussions within the Telegram channel indicate that members identified the video as fake. The timestamp was manipulated to create a false impression of an early leak. Comments and discussions on social media further corroborate that the images in the video were edited, and the date was intentionally modified to suggest a May 4 leak. The screenshots highlight the fabricated nature of the claims made in the video,” the affidavit said.

The Supreme Court on July 8 directed the Union government and NTA to provide comprehensive details about the nature and extent of the leak. This included the time between the leak and the conduct of the exam, the manner of the leak, dissemination of the leaked question papers, steps taken to identify the beneficiaries of the leak, and measures adopted to secure the integrity of future examinations.

The Centre’s affidavit emphasised that the ministry of health and family welfare oversees the counselling process for UG seats, which will begin in the third week of July 2024. Any candidate found guilty of malpractice will have their candidature cancelled during or after the counselling process. The timing of such cancellations will affect seat allocation, but vacant seats could still be offered in subsequent rounds if necessary.

To strengthen the examination process, the government has established a high-level committee of experts, headed by K Radhakrishnan, former Chairman of ISRO and Chairman, the Board of Governors, IIT Kanpur, said the Centre. This committee will recommend measures to enhance transparency and robustness in future examinations conducted by the NTA.

“The committee consists of experts with extensive experience across various fields, demonstrating the necessary domain expertise required for undertaking such an exercise,” said the affidavit. It added the committee has also co-opted two more members – professors from IIT-Kanpur.

The Centre’s affidavit underscored the government’s legislative efforts to ensure examination integrity. The Parliament enacted the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which came into effect on June 21, 2024. This Act provides for stringent punishments for offences related to unfair means in public examinations, ensuring a robust legal framework to deter malpractices, said the Centre.

NTA submitted that the option being considered is to replace the mode of conduct of examination from pen and paper mode (OMR-based) to computer-based test (CBT) mode. “Further options are also being explored simultaneously so as to perfectly obviate the occurrence of any malpractices that may affect the sanctity and integrity of the exam. In respect to modalities to be followed for the identification of beneficiaries, it is submitted that the investigation by the CBI is already ongoing and the NTA would make inquiries from the city coordinators and other exam functionaries by seeking further information and take appropriate action.”

NTA added that based on the progress of investigations, as and when the names of suspicious candidates become available, it can also initiate an administrative process for debarring such candidates. It pointed out that not 67 but only 61 candidates scored the perfect marks of 720 because six of them were given grace marks due to a loss of time and after the re-test. Those six candidates could not score 720 in retest.