NEET-UG 2024: Supreme Court Reschedules Hearing to July 18

Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) announced that the hearing of the petitions seeking the cancelation of the NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance exam has been rescheduled to July 18. This decision was made by a three-bench constituting Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, after noting that the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) had submitted their affidavits in line with the court's order from July 8. The bench observed that some petitioners' lawyers had not yet received these affidavits, necessitating the rescheduling. 

The Supreme Court is currently handling several petitions related to NEET-UG 2024, which include allegations of irregularities and malpractices during the May 5 exam. Petitioners are demanding a fresh examination due to concerns over paper leaks, OMR sheet tampering, impersonation, and cheating. They argue that these issues compromised the integrity of the exam and potentially disadvantaged many deserving students. 

In response, the Central government has asserted that there is no concrete evidence of widespread malpractice. The NTA, in its affidavit, claimed that the distribution of marks across the exam reflects a normal pattern, suggesting no external influence. The NTA also detailed its security protocols for the printing, transportation, and distribution of question papers to ensure confidentiality.

The SC, recognizing the gravity of these allegations, has expressed concerns about potential breaches in the exam's sanctity. During an earlier hearing on July 8, the court emphasized the need for a thorough investigation. Consequently, the Ministry of Education requested the Director of IIT Madras to conduct a comprehensive data analysis of the NEET-UG 2024 results. The findings of this analysis are expected to be presented at the upcoming hearing on July 18.

Today (July 15, 2024), the SC bench issued a notice to the NTA and the Central Government in the transfer petitions concerning the current NEET-UG controversy and tagged them with similar pleas. The advocate appearing for the petitioners sought a stay on the proceedings regarding the NEET-UG controversy before the High Court. The bench constituting CJI, Justice Pardiwala, and Justice Mishra said “In transfer, the High Court normally does not proceed once we issue notice.”