NEET Under Scrutiny: What is Supreme Court’s decision on exam and counseling? All Your Questions Answered!

NEET UG 2024: The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET-UG 2024) exam for admission to medical courses has been mired in controversies. The NEET-UG 2024 exam was held on May 5. After allegations of irregularities and paper leak in the exam, students protested at different places. Now the matter has reached the Supreme Court. The petition has demanded an inquiry into the irregularities in NEET-UG and instructions to the students who qualified the exam to appear for the exam again. The Supreme Court heard the matter on Friday (June 14). The court has asked the NTA i.e. National Testing Agency to present its side within two weeks. The next hearing of the case will be on July 8.

What is the controversy?

There are allegations of giving too many marks in the NEET-UG exam. Due to this, this year a record 67 candidates have achieved the top rank with perfect scores. Last year only two students came on the top rank. In such a situation, students allege that the marks of many candidates have been increased or decreased as per the plan. On the other hand, there was a delay in conducting the exam in 6 centers. To compensate for the wastage of time, grace marks were also given to at least 1500 students in such centers, which is under investigation.

Where were the papers leaked?

There have also been allegations of paper leak in NEET-UG. The Economic Offenses Wing of Bihar Police said last month that its investigation revealed that about 35 students were provided with NEET papers and answers before the May 5 exam. The police have arrested 13 people in this case. 

Where were the grace marks given?

In at least 6 exam centres in Meghalaya, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Surat and Chandigarh, the papers were not distributed on time. That is, the students did not get 3 hours and 20 minutes for the exam. The students complained about the wastage of time. After which, the students in these centres were given grace marks on the basis of the formula prepared by the court.

Who filed the petition regarding NEET-UG?

41 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court and High Court regarding NEET. Petitioners Hitesh Singh Kashyap and Alakh Pandey, founder of ‘Physicswala’ have filed the petition. Hitesh Singh Kashyap has expressed doubts over students from other states (Odisha, Karnataka, Jharkhand) choosing a special center in Godhra, Gujarat. The petitioner said that ‘in Godhra taluka of Panchmahal, Gujarat, at least 16 students from remote states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Karnataka allegedly paid Rs 10 lakh each to pass NEET. 

What questions did the students raise?

Mohammad Firoz and Shreyanshi Thakur have challenged the Answer Key in the Delhi High Court. Adarsh ​​Raj Gupta has filed a petition regarding the investigation of paper leak in Bihar. Lipika Sonboir filed a petition in the Bilaspur High Court of Chhattisgarh against the delay in getting the question paper at the center. Keshav Parikh of Rajasthan has challenged the re-opening of NEET UG 2024 registration in PIL. While in Jabalpur High Court, Nishita Soni of Bhopal and Amishi Verma of Jabalpur have filed a petition regarding marks mismatch.

Why did NTA file a transfer petition?

Students have filed petitions in the High Courts of 7 states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and UP regarding the irregularities in NEET. NTA has filed a transfer petition regarding these. NTA has said that different courts giving different verdicts can create confusion among students. Therefore, all cases should be transferred to the Supreme Court. Aayushi Patel of Lucknow, UP has challenged the result not being generated due to the OMR sheet being torn. While Tanmay Chattopadhyay of Bengal has raised questions on getting 718 and 719 in such a tough exam.

What did the Education Minister say?

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “We had called some students, have also met their families. I have assured them that the government is committed to a transparent process. There were 24 lakh applications. 23 lakh 33 thousand students gave the exam. Some doubts of the students came up. Irregularities were also reported at 6 centers. There has also been an objection regarding grace marks. The Supreme Court has asked more than 1500 students to give the exam again. We will do whatever the court says.”

Why did the Center propose re-examination?

The petitioners had objected to the grace marks given to 1563 candidates in the NEET exam. NTA formed a committee to investigate this matter. The committee has suggested that the scorecards of 1563 candidates who got grace marks should be cancelled and re-examination should be conducted. These students should also be told their original scores without grace marks. Score cards of 1563 students will be issued without grace marks.

When will the re-exam be held?

NTA has released the notification for NEET UG re-exam. A total of 1563 candidates will have to appear for the re-exam on June 23. New admit cards will be issued. The result will be declared by June 30. NTA will send information to the candidates who are going to appear in this exam through email. All these candidates will be sent their original scores on email.

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