No systemic breach in sanctity of NEET-UG, ordering re-test replete with serious consequences: SC

There is no evidence to conclude that the entire result of NEET-UG, 2024 was vitiated and there was a "systemic breach" in the sanctity of the examination, the Supreme Court has said while trashing pleas for re-test on grounds of paper leak and other malpractices.

On July 23, the top court dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the controversy-ridden exam and the order was uploaded on Wednesday night.

"At the present stage, there is an absence of material on the record to lead to the conclusion that the entire result of the examination stands vitiated or that there was a systemic breach in the sanctity of the examination," said the 14-page interim order penned by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud.

The detailed and reasoned judgement on as many as 40 petitions would be delivered later.

The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, "The data which has been produced on the record city-wise and centre-wise and the comparison of data for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 are not indicative of a systemic leak of the question paper impacting the sanctity of the examination."

It said ordering a re-test this year "would be replete with serious consequences for over two million students who have appeared in the examination."

The order said adopting such a course of action would lead to a disruption of admission schedule, setting back the entire process by several months, and would lead to a cascading effect on the course of medical education.

It said the order of re-test would also impact the availability of qualified medical professionals in the future and "cause a serious element of disadvantage to students belonging to marginalized communities and weaker sections for whom reservation has been made in the allocation of seats."

The top court also asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) to revise its merit list by treating the answer suggested by a panel of three experts of IIT Delhi to a controversial physics question as correct.

It scrutinised issues like whether the alleged breach took place at a systemic level and if the breach was of a nature which affected the integrity of the entire examination process.

It also examined whether it was possible to segregate beneficiaries of the fraud from the untainted students.

As per earlier judgements, a re-test can be ordered if segregation of beneficiaries of fraud from genuinely successful candidates is not possible.

It said an interim order was needed for providing certainty and finality to a dispute which affected the careers of over two million students.

"The fact that a leak of the NEET (UG) 2024 paper took place at Hazaribagh in the state of Jharkhand and at Patna in the state of Bihar is not in dispute," the order said.

Referring to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) status report, the order said the probe is continuing and as per the evidence, which emerged during the probe so far, there were about 155 students, who took up tests at examination centres in Hazaribagh and Patna, are prima facie beneficiaries of the fraud.

While refusing to order a re-test, the bench said it was guided by the well-settled test of whether it is possible to segregate tainted students from those whose candidature does not suffer from any taint.

"If the investigation reveals the involvement of an increased number of beneficiaries over and above those who are suspects at the present stage, action shall be pursued against every student found to be involved in wrongdoing at any stage, notwithstanding the completion of the counselling process," it said.

No student, who is revealed to have engaged in fraud, would be entitled to claim a vested right in continuation of the admission in the future by virtue of the findings in this judgment, it said.

It took note of the submissions of the Centre that it has constituted a seven-member expert committee chaired by K Radhakrishnan, former Chairman, ISRO to suggest measures to strengthen the examination mechanism to ensure fair play.

"The Committee will abide by such further directions as may be issued by this Court in its final judgment and order in regard to the areas which should be enquired into by it so as to ensure that (i) the process of conducting the NEET (UG) and other examinations falling within the remit of the NTA is duly strengthened; and (ii) the instances which came to light during the course of the present year are not repeated in the future," it said.

Doubts about the sanctity of the exam arose when a total of 67 students scored a perfect 720, unprecedented in the NTA's history, with six from a Haryana centre figuring in the list.

The number of candidates sharing the top rank came down to 61 from 67 after the NTA announced the revised results on July 1.

Over 23 lakh students took the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) in 2024 for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses.