The Kashmir Pulse

NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024, holding that there was no data on record to indicate a systemic leak of question paper and other malpractices.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard submissions from a battery of lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), and senior advocates Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde and Mathews Nedumapra for around four days.

The bench dictated the operative part of the judgement keeping in mind the future of over two million students and said a detailed judgement will follow.

“There is absence of material to conclude that result of NEET-UG 2024 exam is vitiated or there is systemic breach,” the CJI said.

The bench, however, said the fact that the question paper leak took place in Hazaribagh and Patna was not in dispute.

The NTA and the Union education ministry have been at the centre of a massive political row and protests by students over alleged large-scale malpractices ranging from question paper leaks to impersonation in the test held on May 5.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

The NEET-UG 2024 was taken by 23.33 lakh students at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 overseas, on May 5.

Chronology of events in NEET-UG 2024 case

Following is the chronology of events in the case:

• Feb 9, 2024: National Testing Agency (NTA) issues public notice for online submission of application form for NEET-UG 2024.
• May 5: The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad.
• May 17: SC seeks responses from Centre and NTA on plea alleging irregularities in NEET-UG 2024 held on May 5.
• June 4: Results for NEET-UG 2024 declared, 67 candidates bag top rank.
• June 11: Observing that the sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 has been affected, SC seeks responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea seeking the holding of a fresh examination on grounds of alleged question paper leak and other malpractices.
• June 13: Centre tells SC it has cancelled grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the NEET-UG examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses. Centre says they will have the option to either take a re-test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded to them for loss of time.
• June 14: SC seeks responses from Centre and NTA on a plea seeking a CBI probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in NEET-UG 2024.
• June 18: SC says that even if there was “0.001 per cent negligence” on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.
• June 23: As many as 813 of the 1,563 candidates earlier awarded grace marks in NEET-UG appear for a re-test, officials said.
• July 1: The number of candidates sharing top rank in medical entrance test NEET-UG reduced to 61 from 67 as NTA announces revised results.
• July 5: Scrapping the NEET-UG 2024 exam in its entirety would “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates and not be rational in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality, Centre tells SC.
• July 5: NTA tells SC that cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 would be hugely counterproductive and significantly harmful to the larger public interest, especially to the career prospects of those who cleared it.
• July 10: Centre tells SC there was neither any indication of “mass malpractice” nor a localised set of candidates being benefitted leading to abnormal scores in NEET-UG 2024.
• July 18: SC directs NTA to declare by 12 noon of July 20 centre and city-wise results of NEET-UG 2024 while masking the identities of the aspirants.
• July 22: SC asks the director of IIT-Delhi to set up a team of three experts that would go into a particular question of Physics asked in the NEET-UG 2024 examination and submit a report on the correct answer by next day noon.
• July 23: SC rules out cancellation, re-test of NEET-UG, 2024 exam. “There is absence of material to conclude that result of NEET-UG 2024 exam is vitiated or there is systemic breach,” says CJI D Y Chandrachud.

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SRINAGAR — Omar Abdullah, Vice President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, while being asked by the reporters on Tuesday to give his reaction regarding the budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that he hadn't had time to review it due to party commitments. However, he was quick to criticize the Centre over the "worst unemployment" crises facing the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

Abdullah emphasized the severe challenges facing Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the escalating unemployment crisis, which he described as the worst in the country. "I hope to see provisions in the budget addressing the plight of unemployed youth in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

He also highlighted the Valley's ongoing problems with water and electricity shortages, calling for these problems to be addressed in the Finance Minister's budget speech. Abdullah assured that his party's two Members of Parliament would raise these critical issues if these were overlooked.

Commenting on the Supreme Court's order concerning the Kanwar Yatra, Abdullah criticized the directive of Uttar Pradesh Police in Muzaffarnagar to shop owners to display their names outside shops during the Kanwar Yatra. He stated that such an order should never have existed in the first place.

Condemning the directive of displaying shopkeepers' names along the Yatra route, he argued it marginalizes Muslim shopkeepers in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Drawing a stark contrast, Abdullah pointed out the integral role of Muslims in supporting the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir and added that Muslims carry Amarnath pilgrims on their shoulders to get a glimpse of the Shiva Lingam. He accused the BJP of sparking religious controversies and victimizing minorities, especially Muslims.

The Uttar Pradesh government on July 19 had made it mandatory for food and beverage shops along Kanwar Yatra routes to display the name and identity of the operator or owner of their establishments. Similar directives had been issued in other states including Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

However, the Supreme Court on Monday stayed the direction issued by authorities, saying in its order that they (shopkeepers/vendors) must not be forced to display the name/identity of the owners and also the employees, deployed in their respective establishments.

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SRINAGAR — Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, N. Kotiswar Singh has been appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of India, said the Ministry of Law and Justice on Tuesday.

As per the news agency CNS, the Ministry of Law and Justice said the President of India has appointed the Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, N. Kotiswar Singh and Judge, Madras High Court as the apex court’s judge.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint S/Shri Justices (i) N. Kotiswar Singh, Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, [PHC: Manipur] and (ii) R. Mahadevan, Judge, Madras High Court as Judges of the Supreme Court of India, in that order of seniority, with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices,” the Ministry of Law and Justice said in a communique.

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NEW DELHI — Observing that the sanctity of the NEET-UG 2024 has been "breached", the Supreme Court on Monday said a re-test may be ordered if the entirety of the process is affected and sought details from the National Testing Agency and the CBI including the timing and manner of the paper leak, besides the numbers of wrongdoers, to know the extent of its effect.

"Let us not be in self-denial. Self-denial is only adding to the problem," a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud told the Centre and the NTA, which conducts the prestigious test, in a string of strongly-worded observations.

"One thing which is very clear is that the leak has taken place. That the sanctity of the exam has been breached is beyond doubt. The question is how widespread is the leak," said the bench which also comprised Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

Posing a volley of searching queries, the bench said a re-test has to be ordered if the breach in sanctity affects the entirety of the process.

The court said if the sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 is "lost" and if the leak of its question paper has been propagated through social media, then a re-test has to be ordered.

It said the extent of question paper leak and the beneficiaries across geographical boundaries have to be ascertained before the top court may order a re-test in the controversy-ridden exam which was taken up by 23.33 lakh students at 4,750 centres in 571 cities including in 14 cities overseas.

It said if the breach was confined to specific areas and it was possible to identify the wrongdoers, then it may not be appropriate to order for a re-test in an examination of such a massive scale.

The apex court said it will have to scrutinise whether the alleged breach has taken place at a "systemic level", whether it has affected the integrity of the entire exam process and whether it was possible to segregate the beneficiaries of the fraud with untainted candidates who undertook the test on May 5.

"In a situation where a breach in sanctity affects the entirety of the process and it is not possible to segregate the beneficiaries of the wrongdoings from others, it may be necessary to order a re-test," the bench said.

"One thing is clear that leak of question paper has taken place," it said and sought information from the NTA about the number of wrongdoers identified so far and the methodology adopted for it.

The court directed the investigating officer of the CBI, which is conducting a probe into the allegations of malpractices, OMR sheet manipulation, impersonation and cheating, to place before it a report indicating the status of the probe as on Monday.

It said the NTA must disclose the steps taken so far for the identification of beneficiaries of wrongdoings.

The bench asked the NTA to apprise it about the steps taken to identify the centres and cities where the question paper leak took place, the modalities followed for identifying the beneficiaries and their numbers ascertained so far.

"Before we decide to pass an order for a re-test, we must understand what is the nature of leak," the bench said, adding it was tough to ask over 23 lakh candidates to re-appear for the examination. "What is the modality in which the leak took place? If the modality of the leak is through electronic means like Telegram and WhatsApp …, then there is a possibility that the leak is widespread," it said.

"From this perspective, the NTA is directed to clarify on the basis of the materials in its possession: (i) When the leak of question paper first took place; (ii) the manner in which question paper was leaked and disseminated; (iii) the time duration between the occurrence of leak and the actual conduct of exam which took place on May 5," it said.

While seeking information about the status of counselling of NEET-UG 2024, which has been deferred for the time being, the top court also asked the Centre and the NTA about the feasibility of using the data analytics from the cyber forensic unit or other expert agencies to ascertain suspect cases where they can be asked to take up re-test.

Expressing concern over ensuring the sanctity of NEET-UG, the court said it would be necessary for the government to consider setting up a multidisciplinary team of renowned experts so that such instances are not repeated in future.

The bench was hearing over 30 pleas related to the NEET-UG 2024 including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct it afresh. It said if the question paper leak was taking place through Telegram, WhatsApp and electronic means, then "it spreads like wildfire".

"There is no question that leak of question paper has taken place. We are determining the extent of the leak," the bench observed. It said there were certain "red flags" as 67 candidates had scored 720 out of 720.

"In the previous years, the proportion was very low," the bench added.

The pleas will be taken up on July 11.

The Centre and the NTA, which conducts NEET-UG, recently told the apex court through their affidavits that scrapping the exam would be "counterproductive" and "seriously jeopardise" lakhs of honest candidates in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

This post first appeared on The Kashmir Pulse