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Synopsis

A CJI DY Chandrachud led bench of the Supreme Court of India today has said that no systemic breach occurred with the sanctity of the NEET UG 2024 examinations beyond the cities of Hazaribagh and Patna.

While holding so, court has also asked the National Testing Agency to make changes to the system as per the suggestions made by the high-powered committee constituted by the Education Ministry.

"NTA should avoid the flip flops that happened in this case...there was breach in one of the centers..all this should be taken care of..we have highlighted all the mistakes made by the NTA which the committee should address..", the bench also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has ordered.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in court through video conferencing assured the bench of making sure that changes are made in letter and spirit.

Recently, Supreme Court of India had said that after considering the precedents before it and the materials submitted by the parties, it cannot hold that ordering cancellation of entire NEET UG 2024 exam would be justified.

"At the present stage, there is an absence of material sufficient to lead to the conclusion that the result of the examination stands vitiated or there was any systemic breach to the sanctity of the examination..", the bench held.

It further said that the data produced on record by the Union government, in comparison to the previous years was not indicative of a systemic leak of the paper which would indicate a destruction of the sanctity of the examination.

"It would need to be clarified that if the CBI's investigation reveals that more beneficiaries are there, actions shall be taken. No student who is revealed to have engaged in acts of fraud would be entitled to claim the right in continuation of admission", top court has added.

National Testing Agency, which conducted the NEET UG, 2024 on May 5, had told the Supreme Court that the entirety of the exam was carried out fairly and with due confidentiality without any illegal practices. 

Notably, in the plethora of petitions that have been filed before the Supreme Court relating to the NEET UG 2024 exam, the court has decided to first hear the petitioners seeking a re-test.

Union government submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court opposing the plea to cancel the NEET UG 2024 held on May 5 for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges across the country, saying scrapping the exam in entirety would seriously jeopardise the lakhs of honest candidates.

Education Ministry submitted the Union government is committed towards conduct of all competitive examinations in a fair and transparent manner. 

Cause Title: Shivangi Mishra & Ors vs. National Testing Agency