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

New Delhi: In the latest update regarding the NEET 2024 paper leak controversy, the Supreme Court today i.e. on June 20, stayed the proceedings in the pleas filed in Rajasthan, Calcutta and Bombay High Courts in this connection.

The Apex Court vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhati stayed these proceedings while issuing notice on the transfer plea filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that NTA, the agency in charge of conducting the NEET UG 2024 exam, recently approached the Supreme Court with a prayer to transfer the pleas from the High Court to the Apex Court.

This year's National Eligibility-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.

Also Read: NEET 2024 Controversy: NTA urges SC to Transfer Plea on Paper Leak from High Court

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 investigation into the alleged paper leak scam. Some of the pleas demanded scrapping of NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest.

Recently, NTA approached the Supreme Court seeking to transfer to the Top Court a plea filed in the Delhi High Court alleging paper leak and irregularities in the conducted of the undergraduate medical entrance examination, held on May 5, 2024.

The Supreme Court on June 14, issued notice on the NTA's plea and tagged the transfer petition along with other petitions filed in connection with the alleged paper leak in the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 exam.

As per the latest media report by Live Law, the Supreme Court has now stayed the proceedings in the pleas filed before the three High Courts. Initially, the bench was not inclined to pass an order to stay the proceedings. It observed that if the notice was issued on the transfer pleas, the High Courts generally refrain from dealing with the matter.

However, the counsel for NTA submitted before the Apex Court that the High Courts are dealing with the issue despite the Court issuing notice on a similar transfer plea last week.

Responding to this, the Court observed that the cases filed in connection with the individual grievances could at least be heard by the High Courts. Justice Nath was quoted observing by Live Law, "There may be some individual cases where petitions have been filed asking for the answer sheets, issue of higher marks and lesser marks, let those matters be thrashed out by the High Court. Today only we were reading in LiveLaw and Bar and Bench, they filed (petitioner before the High Court) fake and forged documents to compel the court to summon the original record when the original record came, they ran away."

Justice Nath was referring to the recent order passed by the Allahabad High Court, which dismissed a plea moved by a NEET aspirant (Ayushi Patel) after it came to light that she submitted forged documents in her plea alleging that NTA failed to declare her result.

At this outset, the counsel for NTA clarified that the transfer was sought only for the pleas challenging the alleged paper leak and regarding the grievances of individual candidates.

Finally, the bench agreed to stay the proceedings and ordered, "In the meantime, the further proceedings before the High Court shall remain stayed." The transfer pleas have been listed for hearing on July 8.

The Court also issued notice on certain other pleas alleging discrepancies in NEET UG 2024 exam and tagged them with connected matters for further hearing on July 8. It has been reiterated by the Court that it was not staying the counselling process. However, orally, the bench clarified that the admission process would be subject to the result of the pleas, adds Livelaw.

Also Read: NEET 2024 Results Row: Supreme Court pulls up NTA, says 'Even 0.001 percent negligence Should be Thoroughly Dealt With'