"Supreme Court Examines NEET-UG 2024 Results Amid Allegations of Discrepancies and Cheating"

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the central government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding a petition to nullify the NEET-UG 2024 results due to allegations of a paper leak.

The court emphasized the need for answers, stating that the sanctity of the examination process had been compromised.

Despite the ongoing investigation, the court allowed admission counseling to proceed. Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah clarified that they would not halt the counseling process. The case was scheduled for further hearing on July 8, alongside another plea before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.

The new petition highlights discrepancies in scores and alleged preferential treatment among students. Petitioners from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh requested the cancellation of the May 5 exam results and the conduct of a new examination. They claimed inconsistencies in the allocation of grace marks and pointed to statistically improbable scores, including perfect scores of 720 out of 720.

Concerns were also raised about 67 students from a single coaching center achieving full marks, and discrepancies in the provisional answer key, which was contested by over 13,000 students. The petition underscored the dangers of cheating in a medical entrance exam, arguing it undermines competence, meritocracy, and equal opportunities, thus perpetuating social inequalities.

Previously, on May 17, the court, led by Chief Justice Chandrachud, had issued a notice in a similar case but allowed the result declaration to proceed. The NTA has since decided that a high-powered committee will review the grievances of 1,600 students who took the NEET 2024 exam.