NEET 2024 Controversy: SC Seeks Response from Centre, NTA on Plea Seeking Cancellation of Exam

New Delhi: The pleas alleging discrepancies in the National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 exam came up for hearing before the Supreme Court today. While considering the matter, the Apex Court bench sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others regarding the pleas calling for the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam.

 These pleas also prayed for a court-supervised investigation into the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination held on May 5, 2024, as per the PTI report.

A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti also sought responses from the parties on separate pleas filed by the NTA seeking the transfer of some pending petitions from the high courts to the apex court.

All these pleas have been listed for further hearing on July 8, 2024.

Also Read: NEET paper leak row: Accused claims link with Bihar Minister during interrogation

This year's National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 Examination was mired in controversies after the allegations of paper leak came into light. Around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of the NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.

Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.

Multiple pleas have been filed before the High Courts and the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the alleged paper leak scam. Some of the pleas demanded the scrapping of the NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest.

One of the petitions, filed by 20 students who appeared in the medical entrance exam, also sought direction to the NTA and others to conduct the test afresh.

While hearing separate pleas concerning the NEET examination, the apex court had on June 18 said that even if there was "0.001 per cent negligence" on the part of anyone in the conduct of the examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with.

The Apex Court last week sought responses from the Centre and the NTA on a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into allegations of question paper leak and other irregularities in the exam.

Also Read: NEET 2024 Paper Leak Case: SC Stays Proceedings in 3 High Courts