NEET UG 2024 hearing postponed: The
Supreme Court
has rescheduled the
NEET-UG
hearing to next Thursday, July 18, to address complaints regarding irregularities and malpractices during this NTA exam held on May 5 this year. In line with previous Supreme Court orders, the
CBI
has submitted a status report on its ongoing investigation into these matters.
On Wednesday, TOI reported that the central government submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court on July 10th, a day ahead of the hearing. The affidavit claimed that the NEET-UG 2024 exam was not plagued by ‘mass malpractice’ or any localised group of candidates receiving undue advantages, leading to abnormal scores. The government stated that an analysis by IIT Madras found no evidence of widespread irregularities or any specific group benefiting unfairly, which could have led to unusually high scores.
According to the TOI report, the government included IIT's analysis in its affidavit to the court. The analysis covered city-wise and center-wise data for the top 1.4 lakh ranks over two years (2023 and 2024), considering the total number of seats in the country is approximately 1.1 lakh. The findings indicated no evidence of widespread malpractice or any particular group of candidates gaining an advantage, resulting in abnormal scores. The affidavit further mentioned that the distribution of marks in the exam follows a bell-shaped curve, which is typical in large-scale examinations and suggests no abnormalities.
Additionally, the Centre informed the apex court through an additional affidavit that the counselling process will be conducted in four rounds, with the first round starting in the third week of July.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court expressed concerns about the integrity of the NEET-UG 2024 exam. It suggested that if the question paper leak had been disseminated through social media platforms, a re-examination should be conducted. The court emphasised the importance of holding the authorities accountable and adjourned the matter until July 11, requesting the CBI to provide a status report by Wednesday.
Currently, the Supreme Court is reviewing over 30 petitions related to the NEET-UG examination, which raise various issues, including allegations of irregularities and malpractices during the May 5 test. Some petitioners are seeking a directive to re-conduct the examination.
How stakeholders reacted to Supreme Court's NEET UG 2024 hearing postponement
Stakeholders alike took to social media, and shared their views on the delay in the Supreme Court hearing. Here are a few reactions-
One user, who identifies as a doctor and healthcare activist, commented, "The medical education seekers in India will be mild-moderate-severe beneficiaries of the paper leak?! Do we expect mild-mod-severe quality of medical care to citizens... Then why is quantification of 'breach of sanctity' essential for re-exam?"
Another user, who also identifies as a doctor, remarked, "Sad and extremely painful to see everyone (ruling party, opposition, judiciary... all) is playing with the young minds of future #Indian #doctors! People in this country will have to pay a heavy price on health in the near future."
Speaking to ANI, Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai said, "IIT Madras did a survey about the nature of the paper leak, they are very clear that it has been contained. It did not reach many people... The Supreme Court also mentioned a few days ago that there does not seem to be a widespread leak... It is a very localised leak that has been controlled, the fear-mongering of opposition parties can be put to rest now..."
One of the users further said that the Supreme Court has decided to delay the hearing of NEET-UG 2024 case by next Thursday, July 18. "Seriously, What a mockery of the system. It needs to solve asap. R they hiding or covering up something why they have to move it so much long?"
English (US) ·