A petition was filed on Wednesday, July 27, before the Kerala High Court seeking compensation to the girl students who were forced to remove their innerwear, which caused mental trauma and stress before writing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in Kollam. 

The petitioner also sought an order in favour of the victims by directing the National Testing Agency (NTA) to re-conduct the NEET exam within two weeks prior to the release of the results. The court will hear the case on July 29, as stated in a report by ENS. 

The petitioner Asif Azad, a Party-in-Person, stated that in a similar incident in 2017, four teachers of a school in Kerala were suspended for asking a girl to remove her innerwear before entering a NEET centre in Kannur. Due to the lack of a common protocol system to conduct examinations, these atrocities are happening, the petitioner said. It is high time to end all these violations against human rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution of India, the petitioner added as per ENS. 

The incident took place at Mar Thoma College of Science and Technology, Ayur, on July 17, after metallic hooks were detected in the innerwear of some girls during screening. According to the complaint, many girl students were asked to remove their innerwear if they wanted to attempt the exam, causing them severe emotional distress.

The petitioner submitted that no matter what the exam was, the physical examination, which was conducted under stress just before the exam, is one of the things that destroys a person's memory prior to the exam, as per ENS.

The petitioner also sought direction to the Central Government to publish a common protocol to conduct examinations across the country.