Itanagar: The Calcutta High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to respond to a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging irregularities in the NEET (UG) 2024 examination.
The NEET UG exam was conducted on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, with over 24 lakh candidates participating. The results of the same were announced on June 04.
From Arunachal Pradesh alone, 4,998 candidates had appeared for the exam.
Petitioner Tanmoy Chattopadhyay, in his PIL, argued that candidates could not have scored 718 or 719 as per the applicable marking system. A division bench of Justice Kausik Chanda and Justice Apurba Singh Ray, noting the NTA’s reliance on the Supreme Court’s decision in Akshat Aggarwal & Others v. Union of India & Others, has asked the agency to file a detailed affidavit within ten days responding to the allegations.
“It appears that the National Testing Agency sought to justify the awarding of such marks based on a judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No.600 of 2018 (Akshat Aggarwal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.). Justification of such an exercise cannot be decided without an affidavit from the National Testing Agency/respondent no.1. Accordingly, the respondent no.1 shall file an affidavit within a period of ten days from date in response to the allegations made in this writ petition,” the court ordered.
The court also directed the NTA to disclose in its affidavit how the reservation policies of both the State and Central Governments were followed in preparing the merit list for the examination. The court has scheduled the matter for a hearing after two weeks, instructing the NTA to preserve all records related to the NEET (UG) 2024 Examination until further orders.
“The outcome of the counselling process shall abide by the result of the writ petition,” the court clarified.
Deputy Solicitor General of India Dhiraj Kumar Trivedi and advocate Tirtha Pati Acharyya represented the NTA and the Union of India, while advocate Sunit Kumar Roy appeared for the other respondent.
The recent NEET UG 2024 examination has been mired in controversy, causing significant distress among aspirants and their families. Allegations of widespread irregularities and mismanagement have surfaced, raising questions about the integrity of the examination process.
One of the most serious allegations pertains to the leakage of the question paper. Rumours of the paper being circulated on social media before the examination have sparked outrage among aspirants. Additionally, a significant number of candidates achieved top ranks, with approximately 67 candidates scoring a percentile of 99.997129. Notably, six students who received full marks are from Haryana and had sequential seat numbers, suggesting they might be from the same centre.
Concerns have also been raised over inflated cutoffs, with some candidates obtaining exceptionally high marks, including 718 and 719, despite the marking scheme’s constraints. The NTA has denied these allegations, assured a thorough investigation, and attributed compensatory marks to candidates who faced time loss during the exam.
“We are aware of the issues raised by the candidates and are taking them very seriously. An internal committee has been constituted to investigate the matter thoroughly. We assure all stakeholders that appropriate measures will be taken to address any discrepancies,” the NTA stated.
Despite these assurances, the controversy continues to cast a shadow over the credibility of the NEET UG examination. With the future of thousands of medical aspirants hanging in the balance, the demand for a fair and transparent resolution is growing louder.
The NEET UG examination is a crucial gateway for students aspiring to pursue undergraduate medical and dental courses in India.
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