New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice regarding a plea filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) seeking the transfer of petitions concerning the NEET-UG 2024 examination from various High Courts to the apex court.
A bench led by Justice Vikram Nath has also stayed proceedings before different High Courts related to the matter. The Supreme Court emphasized that it will not halt the ongoing counselling process for NEET-UG admissions.
The apex court has issued a notice to the Centre and NTA on a petition filed by students who appeared at the Meghalaya centre for the NEET-UG exam and allegedly lost 45 minutes during the test. The petitioners have requested to be included among the 1,563 students who were granted grace marks and given the option to retake the exam on June 23.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the pleas for a hearing on July 8.
The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted on May 5, with results declared on June 4, ahead of the originally scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests erupted following allegations of irregularities and paper leaks, as results showed that 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720.
Students have filed petitions in various courts seeking a re-test. The Supreme Court has permitted a re-test for over 1,500 students who were awarded “grace marks.” The NEET-UG examination, administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA), is crucial for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
On June 13, the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the scorecards of the 1,563 candidates who received grace marks in the NEET-UG 2024 exam would be cancelled. These candidates have the option to retake the exam on June 23, with results to be declared before June 30, or forgo the compensatory marks given for the loss of time.
On Tuesday, the apex court stressed that any negligence, even as small as 0.001 per cent, in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination would be addressed thoroughly. A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti told advocates representing the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) that any such negligence must be dealt with seriously.
