The National Testing Agency (NTA) has taken a significant step by approaching the Supreme Court with a transfer petition aimed at consolidating all legal challenges related to the NEET-UG 2024 examination. This move comes in response to various petitions filed in different High Courts across the country, alleging irregularities, including paper leaks and improper conduct during the exam held on May 5, 2024.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on NTA’s transfer petition and decided to tag it with other related petitions scheduled for hearing on July 8. Advocate Vardhaman Kaushik, representing NTA, informed the bench about the withdrawal of three transfer petitions concerning High Court cases on the issue of grace marks. This decision follows NTA’s recent announcement to revoke grace marks, as per the Supreme Court’s directive from the previous day.
The NEET-UG 2024 examination, crucial for admission to undergraduate medical courses across India, has been mired in controversy. Allegations surfaced before and after the declaration of results, ranging from mass-level paper leaks to discrepancies in exam center management and the contentious grant of grace marks to certain candidates.
In response to petitions seeking the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam due to the alleged paper leak, the Supreme Court had earlier issued notices and set the matter for further hearings on July 8. The Centre, representing NTA, informed the court that it would cancel the scorecards of 1563 candidates who were initially awarded grace marks. These candidates will be given an option to re-appear for the exam, with results for those opting out of the re-test based on their actual scores without the grace marks.
The decision to transfer all petitions related to NEET-UG 2024 to the Supreme Court aims to streamline the legal process and ensure uniformity in decisions across jurisdictions. This approach is crucial to maintain the integrity of the medical admissions process and address the concerns raised by various stakeholders, including students and educational institutions.
The Supreme Court, while declining to stay the ongoing counselling process, reiterated that it would intervene only if the fundamental integrity of the examination process itself was compromised. The upcoming hearings scheduled for July 8 are expected to delve into the substantive issues raised by petitioners regarding the conduct of NEET-UG 2024 and the implications for aspiring medical students nationwide.
In an order passed on June 13, the Supreme Court resolved the issue concerning the grant of grace marks in the NEET-UG 2024 examination. This resolution came after the National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the court that it had withdrawn and cancelled the scorecards of 1,563 candidates who were awarded compensatory marks due to the loss of time during the exam.
The affected candidates have been given two options: they can either appear for a re-test scheduled on June 23, or they can proceed with the counselling process based on the actual marks they obtained in the exam, without the benefit of normalisation or grace marks.
On June 12, before the Delhi High Court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the NTA would file a transfer plea before the Supreme Court. This plea aims to consolidate all petitions related to the NEET-UG 2024 exam irregularities into a single unified hearing. This step is intended to streamline the legal process and ensure consistent rulings across different jurisdictions.
