NEET-UG 2024 hearing: SC refuses to cancel exam, accepts IIT-Delhi’s opinion on ‘ambiguous’ question

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 exam, stating that data on record is not indicative of a “systemic leak” of the question paper.

The ranks of 13 lakh students will, however, face reshuffle as the top court directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to revise the results by treating option (4) as the only correct answer to an ‘ambiguous’ question — carrying 4 marks — in the exam.

While acknowledging paper leaks in Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) and Patna (Bihar), the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said there was no material to show that sanctity of the entire exam has been affected. “We are of the view that ordering Re-neet or cancellation of the entire NEET-UG 2024 Exam is not justified on the application of the settled tests propounded by decisions of this court on the basis of the material on record,” Live & Law reported, quoting the CJI.

Stating that re-examination would have “serious consequences” for close to 23 lakh students. the apex court observed that it will not only disrupt academic schedule but also hinder availability of qualified medical professionals in the future.

‘Ambiguous’ question

Based on the report submitted by a three-member panel constituted by IIT-Delhi to review a contentious question from the medical entrance exam, the apex court further stated that both options are mutually exclusive and cannot stand together. Adding that option 4 should be treated as the correct answer, it asked the NTA to re-tally the results accordingly.

The question number was not disclosed to maintain procedural integrity.

The panel was asked to decide on the correct answer for a question in NEET-UG 2024, which had two answers in two editions of NCERT text books, and send its response to the SC by noon.

The SC passed these orders while hearing a batch of petitions, seeking to cancel the exam held on May 5 for paper leak and malpractices.