A samosa seller by day, a medical aspirant by night, and now, a beacon of hope for millions – this is the story of Sunny Kumar, 18, who has scored a whopping 664 marks out of 720 in the medical entrance exam NEET UG.

After attending school in the morning and getting free by 2 pm, Sunny would take an hour to set up his roadside samosa stall in Noida Sector 12, where he would spend another five hours of the day working tirelessly. After a full day of hard work, he would return home only to continue his studies late into the night. This is what took Sunny to achieve his extraordinary feat.

When NDTV went to meet Sunny, he was in the middle of setting up his stall. “I haven’t been admitted to a college yet, but I want to get into a good college in future,” he told NDTV.

Sunny’s achievement came to light after Alakh Pandey, founder of Physics Wallah, visited and shared several videos of him. In one of the videos, Mr Pandey visits Sunny’s rented room, where he stays with his family, and is shocked to see several study notes stuck on his wall.

Sunny prepared for the examination through online classes and cracked it on his first try.

In another video, Sunny tells Mr Pandey that he has to sell samosas since there is no support from his father, however, his mother has always supported his dream.

Mr Pandey has also extended financial help to Sunny and his family and has promised to support his education through college.

While grateful for all the support he is getting, Sunny said that he doesn’t want to go viral. “I worked hard, but I don’t want to go viral like this. I want people to know me after I have achieved something great,” said Sunny.

Sunny’s mother also shared that she has never felt as happy as she does now. “I am truly happy and only wish for my son to be admitted to a good college and achieve great success,” she told NDTV.

With inputs from Prerna Sharma. 

The cauldron rises by the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, on July 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

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17 share top rank as NTA declares final results of NEET-UG

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New Delhi:

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday accused the opposition of trying to create “anarchy” and “civil unrest” using the NEET-UG issue and said with the Supreme Court verdict related to the controversy-ridden exam, “truth has prevailed”.

The opposition should apologise to students and their parents for “misleading” them, Mr Pradhan said as he announced that the final results for the medical entrance 2024 NEET-UG exam will be declared within two days according to the observations made by the Supreme Court.

The court on Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the 2024 NEET-UG, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that it was “vitiated” on account of “systemic breach” of its sanctity.

The interim verdict, to be followed by a detailed and reasoned order, came as a shot in the arm for the embattled BJP-led NDA government and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which were facing strong criticism and protests, on streets and in Parliament, over alleged large-scale malpractices like question paper leak, fraud and impersonation in the prestigious test held on May 5.

The revised final results of the exam will be announced taking into account marks of a physics question, which the NTA said had two correct answers. The revised result likely to reduce the number of toppers as 44 out of 61 toppers had shared the top rank because of this.

“The apex court dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the 2024 NEET-UG, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that the sanctity of the exam has been violated. Today’s verdict on NEET-UG will put speculation to rest and provide relief to lakhs of hardworking and honest students,” Pradhan told a press conference here.

“The judgement will open the eyes of those who rubbished the Indian examination system and grabbed this opportunity for vested interests, scoring political brownies and stoking ‘civil unrest and anarchy’. They should apologise for playing with the sentiments of lakhs of students and their parents as well as for trying to gain political mileage out of it,” he said.

Hailing the Supreme Court decision, the education minister said “Satyamav Jayate, truth has prevailed”.

“We have been saying this from the beginning that our priority is the students of this country. The government’s priority has always been to see that there should be no tampering with the future of students. For the last 2-2.5 months, the government’s stand has been that there has not been any large-scale breach. Today, the Supreme Court has upheld that in its final judgment,” he said.

The education minister also slammed Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling the country’s examination system “rubbish”, and said he and the opposition should apologise to students and their parents.

“When the NEET matter came to light, the opposition’s role became clear after the Supreme Court’s judgement today. The attitude that the Lok Sabha LoP had adopted until yesterday, invalidating the examination system of the country and calling it ‘rubbish’ proves his mental status…Criticising this, Rahul Gandhi ji has criticised India,” he said.

“Misleading the students of the country, creating confusion and provoking them for social tensions were all planned as part of his politics. By rejecting the electoral results in the country, anarchy and civil unrest have become a part of his strategy,” the minister said.

Pradhan said he appeals to Gandhi and all the people of the opposition “who were involved in such irresponsible actions that they should apologise to students, the youth and parents of the country”.

“You have hurt the country, attempted to create anarchy in the country, conspired to have civil unrest in the country. The country will not forgive you. Political rivalry can be different but students belong to everyone,” he said.

The minister said the government’s major concern was students from weaker sections of society and scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and rural students. The apex court also took that into account while pronouncing its decision, he said.

“For us, zero tolerance to any kind of breach is priority when it comes to exams for students. Be it for higher education or jobs. Therefore, the Modi government has brought into effect a strict law like the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act,” he said.

Pradhan said the government has promised the Supreme Court that it will be committed to have a transparent, tamper-free and zero-error examination system.

“Taking this commitment forward, we announced a high-level committee for a complete revamp of the NTA. That committee is working dedicatedly. The committee has collected expert opinions and studied various models…They will submit a report soon,” he said.

On the issue of a controversial physics question that was asked in the examination, the Supreme Court bench accepted the report of the experts of IIT-Delhi that there was only one right answer and not two as alleged by some lawyers.

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

New Delhi:

The presence of IIT Madras director on the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) governing body as an ex-officio member does not amount to conflict of interest, the exam body has told the Supreme Court. This comes against the backdrop of the Centre citing a report by IIT Madras director, Professor V Kamakoti, to stress that there was no malpractice in the conduct of the all-India exam for admission to MBBS courses.

Narendra Hooda, the counsel for the petitioner in the NEET UG case, had said the data analytics report was not reliable and alleged a conflict of interest because the IIT Madras director was a member of the NTA governing body.

Refuting this, NTA has said in a supplementary chargesheet that the director of an IIT that conducts the JEE (Advanced) exam for engineering aspirants is an ex-officio member of the NTA governing body and this year, IIT Madras conducted the exam. However, the core work of NTA is handled by its managing committee. The governing body, it said, only looks at policy matters.

The IIT Madras director, the NTA said, had nominated another professor to attend the governing body’s meetings. And this professor, too, had not attended any meeting since December last year. The IIT Madras director, it said, had not attended any meeting of NTA governing body since December 2022.

During a hearing into the case of alleged irregularities in NEET, which has sparked nationwide protests, the Centre told the Supreme Court that data analytics of results shows that the marks distribution follows the bell-shaped curve that is witnessed in any large-scale examination and there is no indication of an abnormality.

The Centre then said that according to the findings in the IIT Madras report, there is an overall increase in the marks students have got.

“This increase is seen across the cities and centres. This is attributed to 25 per cent reduction in syllabus. In addition, candidates obtaining such high marks are spread across multiple cities and multiple centres, indicating very less likelihood of malpractice,” it said.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday heard a clutch of petitions seeking re-test or cancellation of the 2024 NEET-UG – for entrance to undergraduate medical courses – and raised concerns over the stand of the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) — the body that conducts the nationwide exam — that the paper leak happened only about 45 minutes before the start of the exam in certain centres.

The results of the 2024 NEET-UG exam, which was held on May 5 and attended by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical professionals, have been plagued by allegations of leaked question papers and incorrectly awarded ‘grace marks’.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the NTA, submitted that as per the CBI investigation, at a particular centre in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, a person unauthorizedly took photographs of the question papers between 8 AM and 9.20 AM on the day of the exam. The CBI has been tasked with investigating the case.

A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud wondered if all the 180 questions could have been solved within 45 minutes, given that the examination started at 10.15 AM, to which Mr Mehta replied that there were seven persons in the gang who divided the questions among themselves.

“Whole hypothesis that within 45 minutes there was a breach and the entire paper was solved and given to students seems very far-fetched,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.

These question papers were then solved and the students, who allegedly paid the gang, were given the answers to memorize.

At the outset, the bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said it has prioritised the hearing on the petitions over other cases as these have “social ramifications” and lakhs of students are waiting for the outcome.

After the day-long arguments concluded, the next date was set as July 22.

Exam Body’s Defence In Supreme Court NEET Case

Senior advocate Narender Hooda, appearing for some of the petitioners, vehemently sought cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 claiming “systemic failure” in holding it.

He alleged that the transportation of question papers was compromised and that they were in the custody of a private courier company for six days in Hazaribagh. Shockingly, he claimed, they were transported in an e-rickshaw to an exam centre whose principal later got arrested for alleged involvement in the racket.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, however, refused any suggestion of the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and pointed out the CBI had investigated the chain “from printer to centre”.

“How the sealing happened… how GPS tracking happened… There is a seven-layer security system,” he told the court.

The court then asked Mr Mehta, “Mr Solicitor… did you engage a private courier company to dispatch the NEET papers?”. The Solicitor General deferred his reply to a later stage.

Questions over transportation were flagged after the CBI suggested a leak – either while the papers were being taken to centres or after they arrived at one – a school in Hazaribagh.

NEET-UG Re-Test Only If “Sanctity” Lost

During the hearing, the Supreme Court stressed it would only order a NEET-UG 2024 re-test if the “sanctity” of the May 5 exam was “lost on a large scale” as a result of leaked questions.

The remark was an echo of observations made last week, when the court said the “sanctity” of the exam had been affected and demanded answers. The top court then, however, had advised against a re-test, saying certain circumstances would argue against it.

“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…” Chief Justice Chandrachud told senior advocate Narender Hooda, who appeared for the petitioners.

When Mr Hooda informed the court that around 23.33 lakh students appeared for the exam for about 1.08 lakh seats in government and private medical colleges, the bench said, “Merely because out of 23.33 lakh only 1.08 lakh students will get admission, we cannot order a re-test. Re-examination has to be on a concrete footing that the entire exam is affected.”

NEET-UG 24 Controversy

Controversy over the NEET-UG 2024 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 of 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.

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.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

A day before the Supreme Court hears a clutch of petitions on the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG, the Centre on Wednesday submitted an affidavit in the court stating that a comprehensive analysis of the results has revealed that there was no large-scale malpractice or evidence of a local set of candidates benefiting. 

The Union government also reiterated its stance that it does not intend to hold a retest of the medical entrance exam. Doing so on the basis of “unsubstantiated suspicions”, it said, would burden nearly 24 lakh students, who had appeared for the exam on May 5.

Importantly, the Centre has said that it intends to start the counselling process for NEET-UG, which is the final stage for admissions, from the third week of July in four phases. If any candidate is found to have benefited from any irregularity, their counselling will be cancelled in any of the phases or even after, it said. 

While some petitioners in the Supreme Court have demanded that the medical entrance exam be held again in view of the irregularities and the alleged paper leak, others have petitioned against a retest. 

Bell Curve

In its affidavit, the Centre said experts from IIT Madras have carried out a technical analysis of data from NEET-UG 2024 and found no indication of mass malpractice or a localised set of candidates being benefited, leading to abnormal scores.

The data revealed that there is an overall increase in the marks obtained by students, specifically in the range of 550 to 720, and this rise has been seen across cities and centres. 

The Centre said the increase can be attributed to a 25% reduction in syllabus, and the fact that high scorers were spread out points to a very low likelihood of mass malpractice. 

The analysis also showed that the distribution of marks follows a bell-shaped curve, which is seen in any large-scale examination, and was further evidence of there not being an abnormality, the affidavit stated.

Counselling Plan

The Centre “respectfully submitted” that it intends to start the counselling process in the third week of July and conduct it in four rounds. The government said that IIT Madras has been requested to investigate the people involved in irregularities through data analysis and if evidence from that, or other sources, reveals that any candidate is found to have benefited, their counselling will be cancelled at any stage during or after the process.

On the re-examination issue, the Centre said it is not in support of that because it does not want nearly 24 lakh candidates burdened on the basis of “unsubstantiated suspicions”.

In an earlier affidavit too, the government had said scrapping the 2024 exam in its entirety would “seriously jeopardise” the future of lakhs of honest candidates who had appeared for it. In the absence of proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in the examination, it had said, taking such a step would not be rational.

The Centre has also proposed a seven-member expert panel to consider all the issues raised, so that no such leaks or irregularities happen in future exams.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) following a petition filed by a learning app alleging exam rigging in the recently conducted NEET-UG exams. The court has directed the NTA to respond to the notice by July 8, when the hearing on the matter will take place.

The petition raises serious concerns about the integrity of the NEET-UG examination held on May 5. The results for this exam, announced on June 4, have been mired in controversy with allegations of irregularities and malpractice. The petitioners claim that over 1,500 students were awarded grace marks, which has significantly impacted the overall rankings and fairness of the exam.

In addition to the Supreme Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also been tasked with probing several cases related to the alleged paper leak and exam rigging. The CBI’s investigation spans multiple states and has already led to the questioning of individuals and several arrests connected to the case.

The petitioners, represented by the coaching centre and other students, argued for students’ right to access their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets. 

However, Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice SVN Bhatti, presiding over the case, questioned the fundamental rights allegedly violated by the NTA’s actions.

Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament earlier today, President Droupadi Murmu said that the government is committed to probing the allegations concerning exam paper leaks. 

“If due to any reason, there is an obstruction in examinations it is not appropriate. Sanctity and transparency are a must in government recruitments and examinations,” she said. “The government is committed to conducting a fair investigation and ensuring the most stringent punishment to those guilty in the recent incidents of paper leak.”

The first red flag that indicated the medical exam NEET-UG could have been compromised came when it became known that over 1,500 students were given grace marks.

But why was this so?

Sources in the Education Ministry said grace marks have never been the norm for “loss of exam time”. To compensate for time constraints, the format recommended increasing time, but never to allow grace marks which were given subjectively.

The eventual retest for over 1,500 students who were given grace marks in NEET-UG; the cancellation of the UGC-NET for teaching posts in higher education, and the postponement of the NEET-PG just a day before it was to be held – all these point at gaps in how the National Testing Agency (NTA) worked, sources have said.

The NEET-PG is administered by the National Board of Examinations under the Health Ministry.

Education ministry sources said the government is looking to implement every critical reform in the NTA before the next cycle of exams begin in 2025. They said the NTA will also see whether NEET can be held multiple times or just once a year, apart from chalking out best practices.

The Centre replaced the NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh with retired Indian Administration Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola, a move which sources said sought to save the NTA’s credibility.

Sources said students’ confidence in the NTA had diminished following the controversies.

“The NTA failed to assure candidates. There has been no provision to give grace marks. This is the first time grace marks have been given to candidates. As per the rules, the candidates should have been given extra time if there was some time loss. And then the grace marking was done through the odd method,” an Education Ministry source said.

The NTA had awarded grace marks to 1,564 candidates due to loss of exam time. It said it followed the same normalisation formula that had been approved by the Supreme Court in the CLAT in 2018, when a similar situation arose. The NTA later withdrew these grace marks.

The retest was held today for 1,563 students, out of which 813 or 52 per cent students turned up.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a new case and taken over the investigation.

New Delhi:

Forty-eight per cent of students who were scheduled to retake the NEET-UG today did not turn up, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said in a statement. After a Supreme Court order, 1,563 students who were given grace marks were eligible to take the retest today, the NTA said.

Of the total, 813 (52 per cent) gave the retest and 750 skipped, shows data released by the NTA this evening. The NTA had opened seven exam centres in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Meghalaya, and Chandigarh, a Union Territory.

#JustIn | NEET-UG 2024 retest: Only 52% (813 out of 1563) students turned up for the retest today. pic.twitter.com/JZzsxmDh8c

— NDTV (@ndtv) June 23, 2024

Below is the list of how many students gave the retest, how many skipped, and the locations.

Chandigarh: 2 eligible, both absent.

Chhattisgarh: 602 eligible, 311 absent, 291 took retest.

Gujarat: 1 eligible, and the student turned up.

Haryana: 494 eligible, 207 absent, 287 took retest.

Meghalaya: 464 eligible, 230 absent, 234 took retest.

The retest was held on a day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a first information report (FIR) in connection with alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5. The CBI filed the case following a complaint from the Education Ministry amid protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.

Officials said the ministry alleged in the complaint, now part of the FIR, that “certain isolated incidents” happened in a few states during the conduct of the examination. Giving top priority to the case, the CBI has formed special teams that are on their way to Godhra and Patna, where cases of question paper leaks have been filed by the police.

The CBI will take over the investigation of the cases filed by the police in Gujarat and Bihar.

Sixty-three candidates were debarred from all over the country over malpractices during the NEET-UG, the NTA said. They include 17 from Bihar, and 30 from Godhra.

The role of officials, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination and also into the entire gamut of events, and the larger conspiracy will also be under the scanner, officials said.

In a separate matter, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre, the NTA and others on various petitions, including those seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored investigation.

The Supreme Court also halted proceedings on similar petitions in various high courts.