NEET 2024 Results Row: Supreme Court pulls up NTA, says 'Even 0.001 percent negligence Should be Thoroughly Dealt With'
New Delhi: While considering the pleas concerning the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination, the Supreme Court today slammed the National Testing Agency (NTA), the authority in charge of conducting the medical entrance examination.
The Apex Court bench clarified "If there's even 0.001% negligence on anyone's part, it should be thoroughly dealt with."
Reprimanding the Agency, the top court further told NTA, "As an agency which is conducting the examination, you must act fair. If there is a mistake, say yes, this is a mistake, and this is the action we are going to take. At least that inspires confidence in your performance."
The issues concerning the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and especially the prayers for proper investigation into the allegations were scheduled for hearing before the Apex Court today.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that previously the Apex Court had denied halting the counselling process for NEET UG 2024 exam while considering pleas demanding a fresh conduction of the MBBS entrance exam.
Last week, during the hearing of the grace marks controversy, the Union Government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the Apex Court that it would withdraw and cancel the grace marks awarded to 1563 candidates, who received the grace marks for the loss of their time during the examination.
NTA and the Union Government had submitted that a retest would be held or these 1563 candidates and they would be given an option of either retaining their original scores (obtained without the grace marks) or appear for the retest. NTA has announced to hold the exam on 23rd June, 2024 and the result of the retest would be published before 30th June 2024, so that the counselling for NEET UG 2024 could commence on time.
However, several aspirants and doctors have pointed out that the issue concerning NEET UG 2024 is not only limited to the issue of grace marks. Questions were raised about the fate of 24 lakh aspirants who appeared in the exam as there were allegations of paper leak in the exam.
This year's NEET UG 2024 exam was mired in controversies after a paper leak scam was revealed in Bihar. 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.
Recently, a group of 20 students, filed a fresh plea before the Supreme Court seeking scrapping of NEET UG 2024 exam and praying for an apex-court-monitored probe by the CBI or any other independent agency into the alleged irregularities in the test, held on May 5, 2024.
The plea demanding an investigation into the alleged NEET scam was scheduled for hearing today at 11 am. As per the latest media report by NDTV, slamming the NTA, the Supreme Court bench clarified today that even 0.001% negligence on anyone's part should be thoroughly dealt with.
"Imagine a person who has played fraud with the system becoming a doctor. Such a person would be deleterious to the society and system. Children study hard to get through NEET," the Supreme Court was quoted hearing by The Hindu.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on 8th July 2024.
As per the latest media report by the Free Press Journal, simultaneously, the Rajasthan High Court will consider a case related to NEET today. Filing the plea, a NEET candidate claimed that she received the paper half an hour late during the exam and was not given enough time to complete it. She also claimed that she did not get grace marks. In her plea, the candidate prayed for grace marks.
Also Read: Fresh Plea before SC Seeks Scrapping of NEET 2024 Exam, Court-Monitored CBI Probe
