In a major development on the NEET UG row, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of a re-test. The top court stated that given the available facts, it would not be appropriate to go for re-examination. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, during the hearing, acknowledged the paper leak in Bihar and Hazaribagh but noted that there was no indication of a systematic leak that would disrupt the exam’s integrity.
The bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard submissions over four days from various lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), and senior advocates Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde, and Mathews Nedumpara, who were advocating for cancellation and retesting.
The CBI’s findings revealed that 155 candidates benefitted from the irregularities. The court mentioned, “The CBI investigation is incomplete, so we had asked the NTA to clarify whether the fraud was large-scale or not.” The Centre and the NTA cited a report from IIT Madras in their defense, reinforcing that the irregularities were not widespread. Despite the acknowledged fraud, the court ruled out a re-test, emphasizing the absence of a large-scale disruption.