The
Supreme Court has dismissed a plea for a re-test of the National Eligibility
cum Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) 2024, stating that the data on
record does not support claims of a "systemic leak" of the question
paper.
Chief
Justice of India DY Chandrachud, presiding over the bench alongside justices JB
Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said, "At the present stage, there is an
absence of materials on record to show that the results of the exam were
vitiated or that there was a systemic breach in the conduct of the exam."
He
further emphasised, "Data on record is not indicative of a systemic leak
of the question paper which would indicate a disruption of the sanctity of the
exam. The cancellation of NEET is neither justified nor required on the basis
of the materials available on record."
The
apex court recognised the significant impact of ordering a fresh NEET-UG for
the current year, noting it would affect over 2.4 million students who
participated in the exam.
Additionally,
the court was informed that the Union government has established a seven-member
expert committee. "The committee shall abide by the further directions as
may be issued by this court to ensure that the process of conducting NEET-UG
exam is duly strengthened so that issues cited now do not arise in
future," the bench stated.
The National Testing Agency administers the NEET-UG
for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and
private institutions across the country.
This year's NEET-UG was conducted on May 5, with
more than 2.33 million students appearing for the test at 4,750 centres in 571
cities, including 14 overseas locations.