A fresh petition was filed, by a group of ten students who had appeared for the exam, in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to investigate into the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET-UG) held on May 5.
The petition, filed by the group of 10 students, has also sought a direction from the top court to the Bihar Police to expedite the investigation in the case and file a report before it, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
"The petitioners are fully aware of the ramifications of the cancellation of the examination but there is absolutely no other alternative," the plea filed before the apex court said.
On June 22, the Supreme Court refused to defer the counselling date, which is to kickstart on July 6, of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, after noting that it is not an "open and shut" process. It said so, after hearing a batch of pleas.
The apex court issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA), Centre and others and sought their respective replies after hearing the petitions seeking cancellation of the exam over the alleged irregularities in holding it on May 5.
A two-judge vacation bench of the top court, led by Justice Vikram Nath and Justice SVN Bhatti was hearing on Friday three pleas with respect to the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG exam.
The three pleas were filed by three different individuals — Hiiten Singh Kashyap, Floral Vyas and Sunil Jain — seking CBI investigation into the alleged paper leak, cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 exam and counselling and similar other prayer respectively.
Students and various educational institutions had moved the Supreme Court and various state high courts after the prestigious NEET-UG examination mired into alleged paper leak, irregularities, malpractices and others seeking various directions and orders to NTA.
The top court on June 20 also, in another development, stayed the proceedings on the batch of pleas filed before various state high courts in the same issue, after hearing the plea filed by the NTA and issued notice on the agency's plea in connection with this year's National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test (NEET) exam.
All the pleas had been tagged along with the pending pleas already filed before it for further hearing to July 8, when the SC would be open, over almost 45 days off, after summer vacations.
There are more than 40 petitions, including a fresh petition filed by a group of 20 students, who had appeared in the medical entrance exam, in the Supreme Court, seeking a direction for scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and an apex court-monitored probe by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) or any other independent agency into the alleged irregularities in the test held on May 5.
Recently, the NTA had told the apex court that score-cards of 1563 candidates who "got grace marks" in the NEET-UG 2024, will be cancelled and the students will have the option to reappear for the exam.
The NTA had also further elaborated to the apex court that a committee has been constituted to review the results of over these 1,563 candidates who were awarded "grace marks" to compensate for the loss of time suffered while appearing for the exam.
