New Delhi:

The 2024 NEET-UG – for entrance to undergraduate medical courses – can only be conducted again if the “sanctity” of the test held on May 5 was “lost on a large scale” as a result of leaked questions the Supreme Court said Thursday morning as it heard over 40 petitions asking for a re-test.

The remark was an echo of observations made last week, when the court said the “sanctity” of the examination had been affected and it demanded answers from the authorities. The court then advised petitioners against a re-test and said certain circumstances would argue against that measure.

The court also heard petitions from the under-fire NTA – the National Testing Agency, the central body responsible for the conduct of competitive exams – seeking transfer of cases filed by various state police forces to the respective High Courts to avoid potential duplication and confusion.

“You have to show us that the leak was systematic… that it affected the entire examination… so as to warrant cancellation of the entire exam…” a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said, “Merely because, of 23 lakh (students) only one lakh will get admission… we cannot order a re-examination.”

“Second, tell us what should be the direction of the investigation in this matter.”

“If we accept your wider submission (that leaked question papers compromised the exam results) we would also like your assistance on the lines on which the investigation must happen.”

The court also pointed out it may be unfeasible to identify and “segregate” the hundreds, or thousands, of students who may have conspired to access questions beforehand.

‘1.08 Lakh vs 24 Lakh’ Question

On the numbers of petitioners – seen as crucial to establish the strength of petitions seeking cancellation – the NTA responded, “There are 131 not within the 1.08 lakh (students selected for admission to private colleges) who want a re-test and there are 254 who are opposing the re-test.”

The question of data and how to analyse this data was an early bone of contention, with senior advocate Narender Hooda, for the petitioners, complaining of a “handicap”.

“I am starting with a handicap. I do not have the results… because of that I cannot have the data analytics,” he told the court, as he also pointed out a possible conflict of interest. He said, “One of the Directors of IIT Madras is a member of the governing body of the NTA…”

Appearing for the agency, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta countered quickly. “This is factually wrong. Somebody else was…” he said, and explained, “Governing body has no role in conduct of exam.”

On IIT Madras’ Data Analysis

Returning to the question of analytics, Mr Hooda argued it would be difficult to establish variances given a data set as large as all students who took the exam, i.e., nearly 24 lakh. The NTA, in a written submission to the court last night, said data analysed by IIT Madras showed mark distribution followed a bell-shaped curve normal to any large-scale examination, and indicated no abnormality.

READ | Why So Many NEET-UG Toppers? Exam Body’s Reply In Court

The report also acknowledged the “overall increase in marks obtained… specifically in the range of 550 to 720… across cities and centres” and attributed it to a “25 per cent reduction in syllabus”.

Mr Hooda, however, said that report was based on the figure of nearly 24 lakh and that the analysis should have been carried out on the 1.08 lakh students who passed the examination.

“Data analytics was run for 23 lakh students… but at what stage, if 10,000 or 20,000 (cheated) can you detect abnormality? The correct procedure was to apply this to 1.08 lakh…”

“The (bell-shape) curve is no indication there is no abnormality because the data is too large… which cannot be caught. Granular variations can’t be seen with this large data…” he insisted.

100 Toppers

Mr Hooda also demanded the NTA release data for the top 100 ranks and not just the top 17; the IIT Madras report showed a city-wise list, which showed the maximum (five) came from Bengaluru, with four from Lucknow and three each from Kota in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal.

The Chief Justice subsequently read out the list of top 100 students, which showed there were nine toppers from Rajasthan alone and six from Bahadurgarh in Haryana.

Mr Hooda pointed out what he said was an anomaly, but the NTA said the list’s purpose “is to show toppers are spread over… that there is no abnormal spike in any particular centre.”

NEET-UG Controversy

Controversy over the 2024 NEET-UG exam – attended by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical professionals – broke last month after allegations the question paper had been leaked – subsequent inquiries indicated the leak was orchestrated by a national ‘solver gang’ network – on social media.

The first red flags were the unusually high number of perfect scores; a record 67 students, including six from one coaching centre, scored a maximum 720. Questions were also asked over the award of ‘grace marks’ – not exam protocol, according to the authorities – to 1,563 students.

In an affidavit filed last week, the government, referring to the analysis by IIT Madras insisted there is no indication of “mass malpractice” nor evidence that some candidates had benefitted from cheating.

READ | CBI Arrests ‘Rocky’, Alleged Mastermind In NEET-UG Paper Leak Case

The CBI has been tasked with investigating this case and has filed six cases and arrested nine people so far. Last week Rakesh Ranjan, alias Rocky, who is seen as one of the ringleaders, was arrested.

The incident also triggered a political row, with the Congress-led opposition attacking the ruling BJP in Parliament, forcing ruckus and chaos as MPs debated the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s joint address.

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions related to the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, which was held on May 5. The Supreme Court has said the re-examination can only be done on a concrete footing that sanctity has been lost on a large scale.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwla and Manoj Misra commenced the crucial hearing, saying that it has “social ramifications”. It also asked petitioners to show the paper leak was “systemic” and affected the entire examination, warranting cancellation.

The bench is hearing more than 40 petitions, including those filed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), seeking the transfer of cases pending against it in various high courts on the NEET-UG row to the Supreme Court to avoid multiplicity of litigations.

Here are the live updates on NEET-UG Supreme Court hearing:

Supreme Court Resumes NEET-UG 2024 Hearing After Lunch

The Supreme Court has now resumed the NEET-UG 2024 hearing after lunch.

Supreme Court To Resume NEET-UG 2024 Hearing After Lunch
The Supreme Court to resume the NEET-UG 2024 hearing after lunch.

“After all these mental exercises, you also need lunch,” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud quipped.

Supreme Court Hearing On NEET-UG 2024

The Supreme Court has asked the NTA how many students utilised the window for corrections before the NEET-UG 2024.

Supreme Court Hearing On NEET-UG 2024
The Supreme Court is currently hearing both sides on the number of NEET-UG candidates ranked in top 100 from each state.

“First 100 rankers are spread across 95 centres located in 56 cities within 18 States/UTs,” the Centre told the top court.

More than 23.33 lakh students had taken the test on May 5 across 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 overseas.

Supreme Court Hearing On NEET-UG 2024

On the issue of the ongoing probe in the alleged leak of NEET-UG 2024, the Supreme Court has said, “The CBI probe is on. If what the CBI has told us is revealed, it will affect the investigation and people will become wise.”

Supreme Court Hearing On NEET-UG Paper Leak Case
During the hearing in Supreme Court, the Centre has cited the data analytics of the results of NEET-UG 2024 conducted by IIT-Madras, which found there was neither any indication of “mass malpractice” nor a localised set of candidates benefiting from it and scoring abnormally high marks.

Supreme Court On NEET-UG Paper Leak Case

The NEET-UG re-examination can only be done on a concrete footing that sanctity has been lost on a large scale, the Supreme Court said.

Supreme Court Hears NEET-UG Paper Leak Petitions
The Supreme Court has asked petitioners to show paper leak was systemic and affected entire examination, warranting cancellation.

Supreme Court Hears NEET-UG Paper Leak Case, Says It Has “Social Ramifications”
The Supreme Court is currently hearing on pleas related to controversy-ridden NEET-UG and said it has ‘social ramifications’.