NEET 2024: Supreme Court to hear pleas over re-exam, CBI probe, alleged irregularities today

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will hear petitions related to the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2024 today, July 8. The medical entrance exam held on May 5 for MBBS, BDS admissions has been marred by controversy over paper leak allegations, alleged malpractices, and grace marks followed by demands of re-exam for all candidates and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has summoned the president of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) Varun Choudhary today over a non-bailable First Information Report (FIR) over the NEET issue, as per his social media post. “Why tomorrow, when the Supreme Court hearing on NEET is crucial? NSUI won't back down on exposing NTA's scam. Bring on as many notices as you want!,” the NSUI president said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

A bench comprising chief justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear a total of 38 petitions on NEET , according to the cause list uploaded on the court's website.

The centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) have filed separate affidavits in the apex court against the pleas seeking re NEET, SC-monitored probe, and discarding the national-level exam.

Demands of scrapping NEET, NTA

Recently, the union government and NTA told the top court that scrapping NEET would not be a rational step and “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest aspirants who took the exam, while responding to a batch of petitions filed by candidates, coaching institutes and parents of students. The affidavit said a high-level panel formed to suggest effective measures for conducting transparent, smooth and fair exams by the NTA will make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols and structure, and functioning of the exam agency.

NTA and centre have been under fire over alleged paper leaks and rigging in NEET UG 2024, facing student protests, allegations by opposition parties, and demands of scrapping of the exam agency and resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.