The Supreme Court will today pronounce its judgment containing reasons for not canceling the 2024 NEET-UG medical entrance exam, despite a raging controversy over paper allegations and other irregularities in the exam.
Here are 10 updates on the big story:
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A 3-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud will today deliver its verdict in the NEET case, a controversy that has cast a shadow on India’s top medical exam. The court was hearing a clutch of petitions demanding the NEET-UG test – a qualifying examination for undergraduate medical courses – be either held again or cancelled.
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The controversy erupted after an unusually high number of students scored a perfect 720 in the NEET-UG exam. Red flags were raised over the number – 67 – of perfect scores, including a coaching centre in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh that produced six on its own.
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Initially attributed to grace marks due to a faulty question and logistical issues, subsequent investigations by Police uncovered a different aspect: the exam paper had been leaked to select candidates a day before the exam.
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One of the questions in the Physics paper had multiple correct answers, and hence all students had been awarded full marks for that question, the testing agency NTA had said.
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The Supreme Court roped in the Indian Institute of Delhi to ascertain if there were indeed multiple answers to the question.
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A panel of three experts confirmed there was only one correct answer to the question and that the answer was the same as provided in the answer key initially issued by the NTA.
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After hearing all sides, the court on July 23 ruled that there will be no re-test for the NEET exam as there is no data to suggest a “systemic breach” or the “sanctity” of the examination.
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The court had said that it was mindful that directing a fresh exam would be replete with serious consequences for over 2 million students who had appeared for the exam on May 5.
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Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, will today pronounce a detailed verdict explaining the decision not to hold a re-test.
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The court has already clarified that its judgment won’t prevent authorities from taking action against candidates who had secured admission using malpractices.
