NEET-UG 2024 Challenge Dismissed: The ‘Systemic Breach’ Bar (Case Study)
Supreme Court Refused to Cancel and Quash NEET-UG 2024 Examination, said there’s No Material to Show Systemic and Large-scale Breach.
Vanshika Yadav & Others vs Union of India (2024) :-
The Apex Court of India on July 23rd, 2024 in this case refused to cancel this year’s NEET-UG exam due to paper leaks and questions about large scale cheating and fraud. The court said there was no absolute evidence that the leak was widespread and would jeopardize the sanctity of the entire test. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard this important matter.
The Court also stated that ordering a re-examination will lead to serious consequences affecting over 23 lakh students and will lead to disruption in the medical admissions cycle.
The apex court also stated that it had considered the information submitted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Union Govt. and decided not to cancel the exam as there were insufficient information and details in the file to take a decision.
The audit for the year 2024 is not based on the
standards laid down in the judgment of this Court and is not based on the records.
The CJI said: “The Court has noticed that the introduction of new NEETUG this year will have significant ramifications affecting over 24 lakh students appearing for this exam… with knock-on effects on all medical courses.
The Court has ordered not to cancel the exams in the midst of the seat allotment process and it didn’t order stopping the Counselling process. The Supreme Court heard all the pleas regarding cancellation of the examon Monday, July 22.
This decision is seen as significant because the counselling process for
the entrance exam is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, July 24.
According to the IIT Madras findings, the government report said that a comprehensive review of the NEETUG 2024 data showed, “There is no indication of any major fraud. In the analysis, there is a gap of nine days in the documents due to lack of approval, they are being sent to various banks for analysis,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said, but after the analysis, honest review is required only if there is a major impact.
Linked Precedent – Past verdict doesn’t bother Hon’ble SC in a similar matter as this time apex court takes a different view:- In Tanvi Sarwal v Central Bureau of Investigation (2015), The Court had allowed a retest when it was discovered that 44 students had benefitted from a leak of the All India Pre Medical Test(AIPMT) paper. SG Tushar Mehta appearing for Govt. of India & The National Testing Agency (NTA) submitted that the Tanvi Sarwal decision would not apply to the current NEET leak case since it was a country-wide leak and the network of the organised gang was spread across different states. In the present case, the leak was only found in Patna and Hazaribagh.
*AIPMT was replaced by NEET from 2016 onwards.
