Supreme Court says no need to cancel NEET UG, points to NTA’s ‘flip-flops’ in exam management

“A body such as NTA which is entrusted with immense responsibility in relation to highly important competitive exams cannot afford to misstep, take an incorrect decision, and amend it at a later stage. All decisions must be well-considered, with due regard to the importance of the decision… flip-flops are an anathema to fairness,” said the bench.

“Intense competition amongst the aspirants coupled with the commercialisation of education has led to a few towns or cities becoming hubs for classes which train candidates for competitive exams. While these towns or cities may have a higher rate of success than some others, instances of malpractice at such centres should be treated on par with any other instance. All instances of the use of unfair means must be dealt with firmly”.

Writing for the bench, CJI Chandrachud said “the formation of a committee is essential to thoroughly investigate and address the structural issues”.

The ruling noted the Centre had already constituted a seven-member expert committee chaired by K Radhakrishnan, former chairman, Isro, and said that it shall, in addition to the tasks entrusted by the Union government and NTA, would also look into issues of examination security and administration, research and suggest advanced data security protocols, including encryption and secure data transmission methods to protect examination materials from unauthorised access and potential leaks and review and recommend updates to the policies and Standard Operating Procedures of NTA to align with best practices, ensuring that the agency is equipped to handle evolving challenges in examination security.

It shall also consider the viability of NTA engaging in international cooperation with examination bodies and educational authorities from other countries to share best practices, security measures, and innovative solutions, said the apex court.

In view of the expanded ambit, the Supreme Court also extended the deadline for the committee to submit its report to the Union Ministry of Education from August 22 set by the Centre to September 30. “The Ministry of Education shall take a decision on the recommendations made by the committee within a period of one month from receiving the report. It shall prepare and begin to implement a plan of action on this basis. The Ministry of Education shall report compliance with these directions within two weeks of taking the decision on the implementation of the recommendations,” said the court.

In July, the Supreme Court delivered an interim verdict on multiple petitions seeking a re-test of NEET-UG 2024. While the court said it was clear a leak had taken place in the NEET UG 2024, it added ordering a retest depends on whether the alleged breach was at a systemic level and affected the integrity of the entire process, and whether it was possible to segregate the beneficiaries of the fraud from untainted students.

NTA has released the revised NEET UG results and the counselling has begun.