NEET-UG 2024 row: Leak has taken place, panel must probe it, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday made a strong remark while hearing scores of pleas linked to the NEET-UG examination case. The bench headed by CJI Chandrachud said that it is certain that the leak has happened and the panel must investigate it

The Supreme Court on Monday said that leak of NEET UG 2024 exam has happened and the sanctity of the exam has been compromised. While hearing the petition, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stated that the question paper leak is a "admitted fact" on Monday during her hearing of a number of cases pertaining to the NEET-UG 2024 medical admission test.

Prior to deciding whether to conduct a reexamination, he said, "we must be conscious of extent of leak as we are dealing with 23 lakh students." As the National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the court that six FIRs had been filed and the CBI was investigating the claims, the CJI said, "So, it's an admitted fact that the paper was leaked."

A bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is examining 38 petitions concerning the exam, which is a national examination for admissions to medical programmes in both government and private universities in India, including MBBS, BDS, and Ayush.

The three-judge panel led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stated that it was reluctant to order a retest for around 24 lakh students—many of whom are from low-income households and cannot afford to pay for their transportation to test locations—unless absolutely required. The "last option" is to retake the test, it claimed.

"One thing is clear... questions were leaked. The sanctity of the exam has been compromised... this is beyond doubt. Now we have to establish the extent of the leak," the Chief Justice said, "We have to be careful while ordering a re-test. We are dealing with the careers of lakhs of students."

Furthermore, the CJI has questioned about the paper leak that has taken place in two exam centres.  The CJI has sought an answer on how the NTA sends question papers for printing, and how they are distributed.