In a significant move addressing concerns around the NEET UG 2024 examination, the Supreme Court has called upon experts from IIT-Delhi to provide a definitive answer to a disputed Physics question. This question was a contributing factor to 44 students achieving the top rank, indicating potential irregularities in the scoring.
The apex court’s decision came after senior advocate Hooda highlighted issues of a widespread paper leak, facilitated through WhatsApp, suggesting that the leak’s impact extended beyond just Patna, Bihar. According to Hooda, “Solvers were taken from Rajasthan. Dissemination was through WhatsApp. It is not possible that the leak is confined to Patna.” He also advocated for a re-examination for the 13 lakh candidates who appeared, if a complete re-conduct of NEET is not considered.
Further complications were revealed before lunch when the Solicitor General, representing the National Testing Agency (NTA), acknowledged that incorrect question paper booklets had been distributed at eight centers nationwide. Despite this, the NTA had allowed students to continue with these booklets, asserting that the difficulty level remained consistent across versions.
The issue of potential collusion between private schools and coaching centers was also brought to light by advocate Hooda, who noted that many high-scoring students were from cities where private schools, not directly managed by the CBSE, served as examination centers. This led to suspicions about the integrity of the administration of the exam in these areas.
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The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, is considering whether these revelations warrant a cancellation of the exam entirely or just in specific locations like Sikar, where the alleged irregularities were concentrated. The hearing on these matters is set to continue on July 23.
