The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was open to cancelling the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) if a “lurking doubt” persists that it is not possible to identify those students who used illicit means to cheat in the exam conducted on May 3. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Uday U Lalit said it would await a final report from investigators as to whether it was possible to segregate the cheaters from genuine candidates. [related-post] “Any direction for re-conducting the exam at this stage would create largescale chaos but if there is any lurking doubt that it is not possible to identify and segregate the beneficiaries of irregularities in the exam, we may order the test to be conducted afresh,” said the bench, as a number of parents raised apprehensions that their children would suffer adversely if the exam is not conducted afresh. The bench directed the Haryana Police to expedite its probe to track the beneficiaries, who used Bluetooth and other phone devices inside the exam centres to cheat. It asked the investigators to adduce a fresh probe report on June 3, when the court is set to hear the case next. Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh said that the CBSE would need at least four months if the top court decides to cancel the May 3 exam and order a re-test. Singh said that exam did not require to be cancelled since beneficiaries could be identified. The bench also noted that if the exam was to be conducted again, the schedule for counselling and admission would have to be extended and hence any insistence on a final outcome in accordance with the current itinerary may not be relevant at this stage. The court told the counsel for the candidates to wait till the police complete their investigation and point out beneficiaries. The Haryana police, which submitted its progress report, said that as many as 72 telephone numbers were obtained on fake identity proofs. Those phones were used to make 358 calls to different parts of the country, while Bluetooth as well as WhatsApp were employed for supplying answer keys to the candidates, who paid the money, it added. Roop Singh Dangi, the kingpin of the racket, is at large.
