Supreme Court in its judgement says the committee constituted by the Centre also consider framing SOP for technological advancements to identify potential weaknesses in the cyber security of the examination system, processes for enhanced identity checks, CCTV monitoring of exam centres.

The apex court stated that in it’s judgement it has highlighted all the deficiencies in the structural processes of the NTAs.

“We cannot afford this for the betterment of the students”, says Supreme Court.

Supreme Court stated that the Central government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) must ensure that the problems encountered with the NEET UG 2024 exam are not repeated in the future.

The three-judge bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on July 23 ruled that there will be no retests for the NEET-UG examinations which were marred with serious allegations of widespread paper leak, aspirants find themselves in a state of uncertainty.

While pronouncing the detailed ruling, the CJI observed the need to utilise technological advancements for identifying potential weaknesses in the examination system’s cyber security.

CJI ordered the committee to submit its report to the Centre by September 30. The court asked the Education Ministry to report on the committee’s compliance and the decision to implement it within 2 weeks, as per Live Law.

The Supreme Court of India has started hearing petitions regarding the controversy surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance exam. The court has transferred cases related to the NEET-UG row from various high courts to the Supreme Court to avoid multiple litigations.

Meanwhile, a special court in Patna has sent the key accused in the NEET-UG paper-leak case to CBI custody for 14 days. The Supreme Court will hear over 40 petitions today related to NEET cancellation and against the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The outcome of the hearing will impact over 23 lakh medical aspirants seeking admission to MBBS and BDS courses in India. Allegations of a paper leak began circulating on social media before the exam, which the NTA initially denied. However, after an unusually high number of students scored top marks, suspicions of a paper leak grew.

Although the NTA issued a clarification on grace marks and toppers, many students demanded a re-exam. The Supreme Court has stated that a retest will be necessary if the paper was indeed leaked on social media. The Ministry of Education has urged IIT Madras to conduct a detailed report on the irregularities in the NEET results, which found no mass or localized malpractice in the exam.

The CBI has arrested a suspect, Pankaj Kumar, for allegedly stealing the NEET-UG paper from the NTA’s trunk in Hazaribagh. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has opened the portal for medical colleges to submit details on available MBBS seats for NEET UG counselling 2024, which is scheduled to begin in the third week of July.

During the NEET-UG exam hearing on Monday, the Supreme Court admitted that the paper had been leaked and stated that it was crucial to determine whether the breach was significant enough to conduct a reexamination. A three judge panel comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra stated that a retest must be conducted if it is not possible to separate candidates who have been the beneficiaries of fraud from those who have not.

The next hearing is set for July 11. Based on their responses in the case, the Supreme Court stated that a decision regarding a retest would be made during the ensuing proceedings.

NTA ordered to provide full disclosure

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been compelled by the court to provide disclosures. The Union government and NTA were questioned by the Supreme Court multiple times during the hearing over the timing of the question framing. Before exams, how were they stored, when were they printed, and when were they transported?

It further stated that the order of events made it evident that the NEET-UG question paper had been leaked. It did, however, add that it must be determined whether the question paper leak was sufficiently widespread to warrant a reexamination. CJI Chandrachud remarked, “After all, we are dealing with the lives and careers of 23 lakh students.”

“The fact that the sanctity of the exam has been compromised is beyond doubt…it is an admitted fact that there is a leak, and the nature of the leak is something that the court needs to examine. What steps did the NTA and central government take to identify the reasons for the leak,” the CJI asked.

“What has the government done so far to identify the beneficiaries of the paper leak? And what is it doing to ensure that this paper leak does not happen in the future,” the CJI posed the questions to the centre.

CJI said, “It can broadly be classified into 3 aspects: (1) nature of leak (2) places where leak took place and (3) lag of time between occurrence of leak and conduct of exam.” NTA was also asked to make a full disclosure on the steps taken so far for identification of beneficiaries on their part and whether it is feasible to identify suspect cases using data analytics.

The court also suggested that the government may consider setting up a multi-disciplinary committee consisting of experts to ensure measures are being taken to stop any further breaches in the future. If such a committee has been set up then full details need to be submitted to the court, CJI said. 

Disclosure sought from CBI as well

The top court set a further hearing for Thursday, July 11, and instructed the CBI to submit a progress report on the investigation into the document leak FIRs by Wednesday.

The bench was deliberating over thirty complaints concerning the contentious medical admission exam. These included petitions alleging malpractice and anomalies in the examination administered on May 5 and requesting an order to retake it.

In addition, more than fifty Gujarat-based NEET-UG students who were successful are presenting a separate appeal to the court asking for a ruling prohibiting the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) from calling off the exam.