New Delhi:

NEET-UG exam results are to be published in their entirety – cross-referenced by city and centre – by noon Saturday, the Supreme Court told the National Testing Agency – which is under-fire over allegations of leaked question papers and violation of marking protocol – on Thursday afternoon.

The identities of the students will, however, remain masked, the court instructed the NTA.

The court’s order followed a day of intense arguments over a clutch of petitions seeking a repeat, or cancellation, of the qualifying examination for undergraduate medical courses in the country. The original exam – attended by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical professionals – was held on May 5.

The results were published last month but students could only access their individual scores.

The order to publish followed a plea by the petitioners. They argued that making the scores public would increase public confidence in the NTA. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the exam agency, opposed the request on grounds the test results were students’ private property.

“Entire results are never published… they are the personal property of students,” Mr Mehta reasoned, but the court seemed unimpressed, stating, “We the NTA to publish marks obtained by students in NEET-UG 2024 exam, while ensuring the identity of each student is masked.”

The order to breakdown these results by city and centre was also opposed by the NTA.

The three-member bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud overruled this point too.

“…the fact is there was a leak in Patna (in Bihar) and Hazairbagh (in Jharkhand). Question papers were disseminated. We want to find out if this was confined to those centres or widespread…”

“Students are at a handicap because they do not know the results. We want the students’ identity to be masked…. but let us see, centre-wise, what was the mark pattern…” the court explained.

The court, however, was unwilling to defer counselling for selected students.

Counselling, i.e., assigning selected students to medical colleges, is expected to begin Monday.

Godhara, Gujarat:

 A CBI team investigating the NEET-UG malpractices case on Thursday recorded statements of three candidates who had allegedly paid an accused for helping them clear the medical entrance test held at a private school near Godhra in Gujarat.

Besides the three candidates and their parents, the investigators were also questioning Dixit Patel, owner of the local Jay Jalaram School, at the Godhra circuit house, an official said.

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team has been camping in Gujarat for the last four days to probe alleged malpractice during the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test held on May 5.

The school run by Dixit Patel was one of the exam centres.

The team had on Wednesday visited two private schools in Gujarat’s Kheda and Panchmahal districts as part of its probe. CBI officials first visited Jay Jalaram International School on Sevaliya-Balasinor highway in Kheda district, and later the Jay Jalaram School at Godhra in Panchmahal district.

Both the schools, located 100 km apart, are owned by Patel.

A case was registered by Godhra Police on May 8 against three persons under various Indian Penal Code provisions including criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust for allegedly trying to help 27 candidates clear the NEET-UG by charging Rs 10 lakh each.

On June 23, the CBI filed a fresh FIR (first information report) against unidentified persons under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating), among others, amid countrywide protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.

The CBI has taken over the investigation of five new cases of alleged malpractices in NEET-UG being probed by police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar.

The Gujarat police had arrested five persons, including the principal and a teacher of a school in Godhra, in these cases.

The racket was unearthed after the Panchmahal district collector received a tip-off that some persons were involved in malpractices linked to the exam, as per the FIR registered on May 8 by the Godhra police.

Since the tip-off was received in advance, authorities prevented malpractices at the centre (Jay Jalaram School in Godhra) and the exam was conducted without a hitch, the FIR said.

Physics teacher Tushar Bhatt, school principal Parshottam Sharma, Vadodara-based education consultant Parsuram Roy, his aide Vibhor Anand and alleged middleman Arif Vohra were arrested by police.

As per the FIR registered at the Godhra taluka police station on a complaint of the district education officer, Rs 7 lakh in cash were recovered from Bhatt who taught at Jay Jalaram School and was appointed the deputy centre superintendent for NEET in the city.

Out of 27 students who had either paid in advance or agreed to pay money to Roy and others, only three were able to clear the exam, according to sources.

The accused had asked the candidates to solve a question if they knew the answer, and leave the remaining paper blank. The answers of remaining questions were be filled in by Bhatt when the papers were collected after the exam, as per the FIR.

More than 24 lakh students appeared for the NEET UG 2024 across centres in 571 cities. Results were released on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Patna:

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary on Thursday asserted that the state government would bring in a stringent law to curb exam paper leaks, even as the CBI made its first arrest in the NEET-UG row, taking two people in custody from Patna.

The new law will be passed by the assembly in the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislature, Mr Chaudhary said.

“Following the direction of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the state government is going to introduce a stringent law to check cases of question paper leaks in Bihar,” he told PTI.

The monsoon session of the Bihar assembly and state legislative council will be held from July 22 to July 26, spanning five sittings.

“The central government has already notified the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which aims to prevent unfair means in public examinations and common entrance tests held across the country. Now, the Bihar government has also decided to bring a law, which will curb paper leaks and malpractices in recruitment examinations,” the deputy CM said.

On the CBI probe into the NEET-UG paper leaks, he said, “The investigation is underway… no one will be spared.” The arrested accused were produced before a special court in Patna on Thursday, which sent them to judicial custody, officials said, adding the CBI will now seek the duo’s remand to quiz them.

The eastern state was also recently rocked by the Bihar Public Service Commission’s Teachers Recruitment Exam (TRE)-3 paper leak case.

Meanwhile, mystery surrounded the whereabouts of an alleged solver gang member, a student of AIIMS-Jodhpur, who had appeared for another candidate at a NEET-UG exam centre in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district on May 5, sources said.

He was caught during biometric attendance at the centre minutes before the test, but was allegedly allowed to go after submitting a written apology to the authorities, they said.

“A team of police officers recently visited the house of the accused in Jodhpur and met his family members. But, he was not there. The officers also visited AIIMS-Jodhpur… but officials there had no information about his whereabouts. We have served notices to his family members as well as the institute’s administration,” Awadhesh Dixit, SP (City), told PTI.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala:

BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday said that it is disappointing that students have been disadvantaged, adding that the government has taken good steps on the NEET UG exam issue.

“It is disappointing that students have been disadvantaged. But as Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said the government is committed to making sure that these examinations are done in a secure manner and those who are meritorious are the ones who benefit from these exams, not those who are corrupt and crooked. I think the steps that have been taken by the government of India are good and solid steps that will give a lot of confidence to the students,” Mr Chandrasekhar told ANI.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.

An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which added to the concerns.

The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.

The 7-member committee, led by ISRO former chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, will submit its report to the ministry in the next two months.

“In order to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to make recommendations on reform in the mechanism of examination process improvement in data security protocols and the structure and functioning of National Testing Agency,” the ministry said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The question paper for the UGC-NET exam that was held Tuesday was leaked 48 hours earlier and sold on the dark web and encrypted social media platforms for Rs 6 lakh, sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation told NDTV. The NET exam had been voided by the Education Ministry – already taking flak over the NEET-UG test – that cited input from a federal anti-cybercrime unit.

Sources said the source of the leak, however, is unclear at this time. The agency will work with the NTA or the National Testing Agency, which is the central body that conducts competitive exams.

The role of coaching centres – in which thousands of aspirants enroll, at great cost, in hope of cracking exams like NET, NEET (for medical courses), and IAS (for civil service) tests – in several states is also being investigated, sources said, explaining CBI officers could visit a few in person.

The CBI filed its first FIR, or first information report, in this case on Thursday, in which it accused as yet unidentified persons based on the ministry’s complaint. The ministry had said information indicates “prima facie that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised”.

READ | NET Cancelled Day After Exam. “Integrity Compromised”: Centre

“Corruption Likely…”: CBI Sources On NET Row

Also on Thursday, hours after the UGC-NET was voided – sources said the authorities believed a large-scale corruption racket is behind the leaked papers. Given this concerns, sources said officials charged with the exam’s conduct, including those who set question papers, would be probed.

READ | On NET Row, Corruption Case Likely, Officials To Be Probed

Earlier the ministry – fending off opposition attacks over the NEET row – said it had been forced to void the NET “to ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process”.

After the exam was scrapped, students protested on university campuses across the country, claiming they had flagged paper leaks last week, days before the exam, but no action was taken.

READ | NET Aspirants Allege Paper Leak, Day After Exam Got Scrapped

Students at Lucknow University said at least one paper had been leaked and was available for just Rs 5,000. This, they said, had been circulated via WhatsApp and Telegram groups from June 16.

UGC-NET refers to the University Grants Commission’ National Eligibility Test – a qualifying exam for appointments to professorial posts in colleges and universities, as well as fellowships.

Over 11 lakh students had registered for the exam.

There have been furious protests by students and the opposition over the NET and NEET controversies; petitions over the latter are being heard by the Supreme Court.

NEET-UG Row

In the NEET row, apart from allegations of leaked question papers, grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates and the unusually high number of students scoring a perfect 720 have been red-flagged.

Petitioners demanded a re-test but, for now, the NTA has only agreed to roll-back marks of the 1,563 who got extra marks and has offered them a second chance.

Four men, including Anurag Yadav, a candidate, have been arrested in Bihar in the NEET row.

Mr Yadav, 22, told police he had been prepping at a coaching centre in Rajasthan’s Kota.

READ | Bihar Student Arrested In NEET Case Was Told “It’s Sorted”

“My uncle, Sikandar Yadavendu (also arrested) works as a junior municipal engineer. He told me to come back… said my result had been ‘sorted’…” he said after his arrest.

Government Reacts

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has declared that a high-level committee will be formed and that the interests of the students is the first priority of the government. 

READ | “Forming High-Level Committee…”: Minister On Exams Row

 “I want to assure everyone that the government is committed to ensuring the interests of students. We will not compromise with that or with transparency…” he told reporters Thursday night.

Political Clash

This has also triggered a political blame game between the ruling BJP and the Congress-led opposition bloc, particularly in Bihar, where Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha of the former party has accused his predecessor and RJD and opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav of links to the accused.

The RJD has rubbished the charge and said the BJP is trying to divert attention from its failure.

READ | In NEET Row In Bihar, BJP Accuses RJD, Opposition Hits Back

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Mallikarjun Kharge, and Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav, the Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, and the Trinamool’s Saket Gokhale have also all hit out at the BJP on this topic.

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