The Supreme Court has once again decided not to stop the counselling process for the NEET-UG 2024 exam. They have issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is responsible for conducting the exam.
A special bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti has combined new complaints with existing ones and scheduled a hearing for July 8. This decision follows the NTA’s request to move all NEET-UG 2024 related cases from various High Courts to the Supreme Court.
The court is looking into allegations of question paper leaks and other exam issues but stressed that the counselling process will continue. They’ve also issued notices to the central government and the NTA in response to a petition by students from Meghalaya. These students claimed they lost 45 minutes during their exam and should be included with the 1,563 students who were given grace marks and allowed to re-test on June 23.
The NEET-UG 2024 exam took place on May 5, and results were released on June 4, earlier than the expected date of June 14. Protests erupted due to alleged irregularities, as 67 students achieved perfect scores. This led to some students filing petitions for a re-test. The Supreme Court has approved a re-test for over 1,500 students who received grace marks.
The NEET-UG exam is crucial for admission to medical and dental courses in India. The NTA informed the Supreme Court that the scorecards of the 1,563 students who received grace marks would be canceled. These students can retake the exam on June 23, with results out by June 30, or they can choose to keep their current scores without the grace marks.
The Supreme Court stressed that any mistakes, even minor ones, in conducting the NEET-UG 2024 exam will be taken seriously. They made it clear to the lawyers representing the Centre and the NTA that such negligence must be addressed properly.
