Tampering of NEET OMR Sheet: Supreme Court directs Madras HC to decide matter within 2 months

New Delhi: While considering a plea alleging tampering of OMR sheet in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2020 examination, the Supreme Court has recently directed the Madras High Court to decide the matter within two months.

Such a decision was taken by the top court bench comprising of Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hima Kohli as it agreed with the decision of the Division bench of Madras HC about remanding the matter back to the Single Judge.

Therefore, giving liberty to the parties to appear before the Single Judge while keeping all the issues concerned in the matter open for arguing, the top court bench observed, "Ends of justice would be met by keeping all questions open including the defence of the National Testing Agency (NTA) that there was only one OMR sheet…"

The case concerned a NEET candidate, who alleged that the OMR / Answer Sheet that was uploaded on 5.10.2020 on the website of the NTA showed that he had scored 594 marks in the NEET 2020 Exam and that this position continued in the website up to 16.10.2020. However, this position changed all of a sudden on 17.10.2020 and the petitioner noticed that there was a complete change in the OMR Sheet on the same website, wherein the marks came down to 248.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that with the said complaint, the aspirant had approached the High Court. On verification, the court found that the OMR Sheet that had been furnished by NTA was the one that was uploaded on the website on 17.10.2020 and hence did not order any investigation initially.

Also Read: MBBS aspirant alleges tampering of NEET OMR sheets on NTA site: Madras HC order CB-CID inquiry

However, the Additional Rejoinder filed by the petitioner based on the account retrieved from his Google Account changed the entire complexion of this case. Earlier, a single judge bench of the HC comprising of justice B. Pugalenthi had instructed the head of the CB-CID to form a special investigating team including cybercrime experts to initiate an inquiry into the issue without registering a first information report. The court had further instructed that the report of the investigating team should be submitted before the court.

Previously, the court had also issued an order giving him permission to participate in the medical counselling and join the Government Medical College in Thoothukudi, which was allotted to him by considering his NEET score to be 594 out of 720.

Regarding the CB-CID inquiry, a team of experts from the cyber cell had been constituted and at that time the single judge had clarified that the candidate's continuation in the college would be subject to the final outcome of the investigation.

When the matter reached the Division bench, the court took note of the fact that the primary prayed of the candidate was that he had indeed secured higher score was not considered by the Single Judge. Therefore, it remanded the matter back to the Single judge bench and also had directed that the protection granted to the student by the Single Judge would continue till the matter resolved.

However, the CB-CID inquiry was stayed and the Single Judge had been directed for deciding on whether to continue the investigation of to set it aside.

Meanwhile, NTA had assailed the veracity of the screenshots of the two OMR sheets which had been produced before the High Court to emphasie on the point that the said screenshots had been taken from Google and not the original website.

Previously, while issuing notice in the matter, the Apex Court stayed the CB-CID investigation and also the operation of the Division bench of the HC. However, it had also been made clear by the top court that the admission of the student would not be disturbed.

The counsel for NTA argued before the Supreme Court that the second OMR sheet with the lower score was the one that was available with it and also with the National Informatics Centre. NIC has the responsibility for uploading the NEET-UG OMR sheets.

As per the latest media report by Live Law, while considering the matter, the top court bench observed that the Student's admission at Thoothukudi Medical College was subject to the final decision of the Single Judge of the Madras HC. Therefore, it directed the HC bench to hear the matter at the earliest and take a decision in this regard within two months.

The top court bench was quoted saying, "Since the admission is dependent on the decision of the Single Judge the matter be heard preferably within a period of 2 months."

Also Read:NEET 2020 candidates accuse NTA of furnishing tampered OMR sheets