The Supreme Court hearing on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 gained momentum, today, July 22 as it examined allegations of irregularities in the results, particularly in the regions of Sikar and Jhajjar.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, demanded clarifications on the alleged malpractices and irregularities. The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Narender Hooda made their arguments, as reported by LiveLaw via tweets on social media platform X.
During the hearings on July 11 and July 18, petitioners presented evidence of severe lapses in the examination process. One student, who initially scored 719 marks and ranked 68th, saw their rank plummet to 58,000 after a retest, highlighting inconsistencies. Allegations have been raised regarding the wrongful distribution of question papers and the subsequent retraction of grace marks by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
In today's hearing, the NTA and the Centre acknowledged an error in the distribution of question papers to schools in Jhajjar.
CJI Chandrachud questioned the circumstances under which a representative from Jhajjar was able to collect the exam papers from Canara Bank, according to LiveLaw.
The petitioners cited that the principal of Hardayal School in Jhajjar, Haryana, reportedly mishandled exam papers from both Canara Bank and the State Bank of India (SBI), resulting in score discrepancies. This school saw six students achieve perfect scores of 720/720 under suspicious circumstances. Advocate Hooda raised critical questions regarding the inconsistencies in paper distribution and the awarding of grace marks.
"With regard to Jhajjar, in first response they said Canara bank paper was given and evaluated. Now they say no grace marks was given and extra time was given. Who took the decision? In Hardayal school, the students who got 719 marks and the rank was 68. After re-test, the rank is 58,00. Now they do not know whether Canara Bank paper or SBI paper was given,” Hooda remarked, as reported by LiveLaw.
The situation in Sikar also came under scrutiny. Among the 50 examination centres, 38 students who scored more than 650 marks hailed from Sikar. The petitioners argued that the results were marred by irregularities.
In response to the allegations, the Solicitor General explained that in Jhajjar, students wrote the entire exam, and at a few centres, the wrong paper was withdrawn midway and replaced with the correct one. However, the replacement process resulted in time loss for the students.
CJI Chandrachud questioned the systemic failure, citing cases from various states. "Why were grace marks given to students in Jhajjar? Was it not that the correct paper was issued midway?" he inquired, as per LiveLaw.
The Solicitor General clarified, "In Jhajjar, there were three centres. In one, the Canara Bank paper was given without issues. In the remaining two, after recognising the mistake, the paper was withdrawn, and a new one was issued. Students claimed they did not receive full time, which is true."
The court continues to seek comprehensive answers and transparency regarding the alleged malpractices to ensure the integrity of the NEET-UG examination process. The hearing will continue tomorrow, July 23.
