Supreme Court Upholds Validity of NEET-UG 2024 Amidst Controversy

The Supreme Court dismissed pleas for cancellation and re-test of NEET-UG 2024, citing lack of evidence of systemic malpractice. The court acknowledged leaks in specific locations but upheld the exam's validity, emphasizing the future of over two million students. A detailed judgement is expected.

In a decisive ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court dismissed pleas seeking the cancellation and re-test of the NEET-UG 2024 exam, due to controversies surrounding question paper leaks. Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra emphasized the lack of evidence indicating a widespread leak or systemic malpractice.

The bench listened to arguments from top lawyers representing both the petitioners and the government over four days. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), defended the legitimacy of the exam. Senior advocates Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde, and Mathews Nedumapra stood for the petitioners.

While acknowledging that question paper leaks occurred in Hazaribagh and Patna, the court maintained that this did not justify invalidating the results of the test taken by 23.33 lakh students. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) was conducted smoothly at 4,750 centres across 571 cities, including 14 overseas locations, on May 5. The future of millions of students was a crucial factor in the court's decision.