No systemic failure in NEET-UG: NTA in Supreme Court

New Delhi The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Wednesday filed a statement in the Supreme Court to deny allegations of a “systemic failure” in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024, which has been mired in controversy over alleged paper leak and other malpractices even as the uncertainty surrounding the examination’s validity and potential retest keeps around 2.4 million candidates on tenterhooks, with their career prospects hanging in the balance.

In its response to the joint written submissions filed by the petitioners in the case, NTA opposed the claims of widespread irregularities in the examination process and consequently, the demand to re-conduct the exam. “The allegations of the petitioners that there has been a systemic failure as candidates have obtained unprecedented higher marks only in the top range of mark interval are misconceived and thus denied,” stated the agency that conducts NEET.

Defending the integrity of the examination process and the measures taken to ensure fairness, NTA refuted claims of widespread fraud, including paper leaks, OMR tampering, and misuse of compensatory marks. It attributed the increased scores in NEET-UG 2024 to the reduction in the syllabus by 22-25% compared to the previous year and a 15% increase in the number of candidates.

The written submissions, filed through advocate Vardhman Kaushik a day before the Supreme Court is set to hear a bundle of petitions demanding a retest, also addressed concerns about meritorious candidates being deprived of admission due to high scores this year, emphasising that selection is based on rank, not absolute marks, and that the relative merit of candidates remains the most important factor in competitive examinations. “It is incorrect to say that deserving candidates would be deprived of their opportunities as the selection is based on rank and not due to marks. It is also submitted that in a competitive examination, relative merit is most important and significant,” it said.

Regarding the petitioners’ claims of paper leaks and irregularities, NTA stated that these matters are under investigation by CBI. The agency dismissed allegations of question paper leaks on social media as based on manipulated and anti-dated images. The affidavit also mentioned that grievances about time loss at examination centres had been addressed through re-examinations for affected candidates.

NTA highlighted that allegations of the examination’s compromised integrity were premature and based on unverified sources. “It is submitted that the courts cannot take cognisance of media reports, which are unsubstantiated and misleading. Furthermore, the media reports are contradictory and falsified with the material placed by the petitioners themselves,” it said.

Commenting on the alleged paper leak in Bihar’s Patna, NTA contended that the issues raised were the result of criminal activities by some unscrupulous individuals, and had limited impact. “It is submitted that the incident at Bihar is a criminal activity, clandestinely committed by unscrupulous individuals, which is beyond the control of the answering respondent. News reports have inaccurately covered the incident and drawn conclusions prior to the completion of the investigation, thereby contributing to public misconceptions,” maintained the submissions.

NTA said that the Bihar incident is under investigation by CBI, having been initially handled by the Bihar Police, adding that it had withheld the results of 17 suspected candidates after issuing show-cause notices.

NTA also challenged the reliability of the petitioners’ evidence based on certain statements given to the police regarding widespread paper leak. “It is relevant to mention that in an ongoing investigation on an examination impacting more than 23 lakh candidates, reliance on statement of witnesses u/s 161 of CrPC (statements to police), without filing of charge sheet and any material conclusion, would wrongfully impair the said investigation, thereby defeating the whole purpose,” it said.

In the written submission filed in the top court on July 10, the group of petitioner students challenging the results of the all India examination claimed a “systematic fraud” that compromised the sanctity of the examination and eroded trust in medical education across the country, citing multiple instances of alleged malpractices.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, had on July 11 adjourned the hearing in the NEET-UG 2024 case to July 18 after noting that some of the parties had not yet received the latest affidavits filed by the Centre and NTA. The Centre and NTA, through their affidavits submitted on July 10, opposed the demands for a retest, as previously reported by HT.