NEET-UG Row: Supreme Court Refuses to Stay Counselling, Issues Notice to NTA

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other respondents regarding a plea seeking the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 counselling and seat allotment process, slated to begin on July 6.

Despite this, a vacation bench led by Justice Vikram Nath denied a request to delay the counselling start to July 8, when the court will hear related petitions, including those demanding the NEET-UG exam’s cancellation.

The bench, which also included Justice S.V.N. Bhatti, noted that the initial phase of counselling spans a week and halting the process could result in significant time loss. Consequently, the court instructed, “Issue notice. Tag (with the pending batch of petitions). In the meantime, learned counsel appearing for respondents NTA and Union of India may file their response within two weeks. The other respondents may also file their response on or before the next date fixed.”

The hearing is scheduled for July 8.

The Supreme Court has refrained from issuing interim orders to stay the medical admission counselling process following the NEET examination, even amid allegations of paper leaks and irregularities. The current plea, filed by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, cites a 2015 judgement where the court annulled the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) due to widespread cheating and directed the CBSE to conduct a re-test within four weeks.

The petition asserts that the NEET-UG 2024 examination faces even graver allegations, including statements recorded by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police. According to these statements, the NEET-UG 2024 question paper was leaked and provided to select candidates before the exam, with the leaked paper matching the official exam paper.

The plea argues that in the interest of justice and the future of approximately 24 lakh students, the NEET-UG 2024 exam should be cancelled, and the counselling process should be halted until a re-examination can be conducted.