Supreme Court Issues Notices to Centre, NTA Over NEET-UG ‘Irregularities’ Amid CBI Probe Demands

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre and National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding petitions seeking a CBI investigation into alleged irregularities and paper leaks in the NEET-UG 2024 exam. The controversy arose after 67 students achieved perfect scores, raising suspicions of malpractice.

A Vacation Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath directed the respondents to reply within two weeks, scheduling the next hearing for July 8. The bench refrained from passing any ex-parte orders without hearing from all parties involved.

The petitions, highlighting concerns over the examination’s integrity affecting numerous students, also seek the cancellation of NEET-UG results declared on June 4. Additionally, NTA has petitioned to transfer cases from various high courts to the Supreme Court to streamline litigation.

The Supreme Court refrained from issuing ex-parte orders for a CBI probe, emphasizing the need to hear all parties involved. Amidst allegations and protests by students in Delhi, the Centre on Thursday revoked grace marks given to candidates, offering them a retest on June 23. Results are expected by June 30, aiming not to delay the counselling process set to begin July 6.

The court has temporarily halted the counselling for MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other courses across over 700 institutions nationwide, noting concerns about the exam’s integrity.

Of the 23 lakh candidates, the 67 top-ranked candidates with identical scores (720/720), with as many as 7 candidates from the same examination centre, have drawn scrutiny.