“Playing with lives of students”: CJI on exam-pattern changes in NEET-PG; issues notice to NBE

The Supreme Court of India issued a notice today, September 20, to the National Board of Examination (NBE) and the Union of India, requesting a response regarding the last-minute changes to the exam pattern for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024.

This happened while a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was hearing a petition filed by candidates demanding the answer key and response sheet to be released by the NBE, seeking transparency in the exam process.

Appearing for the petitioners, Senior Advocate Vibha Datta Makhija argued that the exam authorities introduced a two-session exam pattern just a few days before the examination, which led to confusion among the student community.

“There are no rules, there are no clarity. Thus 3 days before the exams, the exam was split in two parts, there are distinction between the two groups..there needs to be standardised approach,” she said, as quoted by Bar and Bench.

The issue has now been listed for next week.

Expressing his concerns, the CJI said, “We issue notice to the National Board of Examination. List after 1 week since it is urgent. You are playing with the life of students. this is very unusual. how can you change the pattern before 3 days of exams. Students will have a meltdown.”

The candidates highlighted several discrepancies in the NEET-PG results this year, including cut-off inflation, discrepancies in scorecards, and issues related to non-transparency.