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The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 paper leak fiasco seems to have come to a conclusion, with the Supreme Court ruling out a cancellation of the examination, or conduction of a re-test on grounds of "lack of evidence suggesting a mass leak".
On Tuesday, July 23, the top court said that it found no substantial evidence indicating a systemic issue with the exam results. It noted the paper leak incidents in Hazaribagh and Patna but ruled that ordering a re-test would impact the academic schedules of millions.
There is no doubt that the SC judgement has come as a disappointment for lakhs of medical aspirants in the country. Now, students are debating whether or not they should approach the apex court again for a review petition.
A review petition is a way for parties to ask the Supreme Court to review a judgment or order. You ca n go for a review petition when (i) there is discovery of new and important matter or evidence which could change the judgement and was not within the knowledge of the party seeking review or could not be produced before court even after due diligence, or (ii) when a mistake or error is apparent on the face of the record.
Experts suggest that a review petition might not be a good idea since there is no sufficient ground, at the current stage, for a review petition to be entertained by the court.
Supreme Court Advocate Aditya Kashyap, told EdexLive, “If there is any error apparent on the record, or if there is any point that could have been taken into consideration and has been overlooked, then one would be advised to go for a review petition. But if all the facts were considered by the Supreme Court at the time of the judgement, then a review petition might not be helpful.”
“Another aspect is that review petitions are usually not heard in open courts. They get in-chamber proceedings and get dismissed without a hearing. So, you can go for a review petition, but chances for it succeeding are really low,” he added,
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is still continuing its investigation into the paper leaks to uncover further details.
Advocate Kashyap further highlighted that no fresh evidence has been uncovered by the CBI since the judgement, and hence, going for a review might not be justified.
The SC judgement dated July 23 states that if the investigation reveals the involvement of an increased number of beneficiaries over and above those who are suspects at the present stage, action shall be pursued against them at any stage, notwithstanding the completion of the counselling process.
Health Activist Dr Vivek Pandey also took to social media platform X, explaining “Most review petitions are disposed of in chambers by the same judges who delivered the original judgement,often without oral arguments. Statistically, the Supreme Court dismisses over 90% of review petitions,as the threshold for proving an error is exceptionally high.”
Meanwhile, the final and revised result of NEET-UG 2024 has been declared by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is expected to share the detailed schedule for the counselling process soon.
