NEET SC Hearing: 'Breach' at Hazaribagh, Patna; Supreme Court asks NTA to publish city, centre-wise results

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to publish city and centre-wise NEET results 2024 by Saturday noon. The court will resume the NEET hearing on July 22 at 10:30 am and plans to take a decision by noon that day. A bench comprising chief justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra were hearing over 40 petitions by petitioners seeking re-exam over alleged paper leak and irregularities in the National Eligibility Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024, those opposing a retest, and by NTA for transfer of high court cases.

During the final phase of Supreme Court hearing on NEET today, the SC noted that there has been a breach in Hazaribagh and Patna examination centres and asked NTA to display separate results following requests and demands by candidates, despite NTA’s objections citing risk to the identity of students.

“What is worrying us is that how much was the time period between the breach and the exam? If the gap is 3 days, obviously there is a greater danger,” CJI observed during the hearing.

Denying a paper ‘leak’ and maintaining ‘breach’, the Solicitor General (SG) told the court a breach occurred at a school in Hazaribagh and it is linked to Patna as a NEET solver gang member was present in Patna. There were five NEET centres in Hazaribagh and the breach occurred at Oasis School wherein 2,736 students took the test, SG added.

'Breach' in NEET UG 2024

“Admittedly, there is a breach in Hazaribagh and Patna. We want to know how many students qualify?,” the CJI asked, to which NTA replied 80.

Responding to NTA’s objections to centre-wise NEET 2024 results, the CJI said, “What is happening is..the fact that there is a leak at Patna and Hazaribag is admitted..the question papers had been disseminated. We want to ensure whether this was confined to those centres or widespread. Students are at a handicap because they don't know results. We want the students identity to be masked but let us see centre wise what was the mark pattern.”

Earlier today, the NTA and petitioners counsel argued over possibilities of paper leak, irregularities in the exam. Senior advocate Narender Hooda representing students submitted that handling of question papers by private courier services, using of e-rickshaw for transportation of papers, and different banks for different candidates point towards paper leak. The petitioners also alleged through counsel Narender Hooda that NEET UG 2024 syllabus was increased, without informing the students, and there has been a five-fold in the number of NEET 2024 candidates who scored marks between 550 and 720 as compared to last year.