New Delhi, July 18 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Thursday said a re-conduct of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Under Graduate 2024 can only happen if there are sufficient grounds for it and directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to publish by Saturday the full city and centre-wise results on its website while masking identities of students.
Hearing a batch of petitions concerning grievances related to NEET-UG 2024 and prayers to cancel the exam due to malpractices, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra told the senior advocate Narendra Hooda, appearing on behalf of the petitioner students, “You have to show us that the leak was so systemic and affected the entire examination to warrant the cancellation of the entire exam.”
At the time of ordering publication of results, the Apex Court was unwilling to defer the counselling for selected students which is scheduled to begin from Monday.
The CJI said, “If we accept your wider submission, we would like your assistance on the lines on which the investigation must happen.”
The CJI said that an investigation is going on. If what the Central Bureau of Investigation has told us is revealed, it will affect the investigation. “People will become wise.”
Hooda said there is a five-fold increase in the scores. “This is one of the red flags.”
He said that the handicap is that they have not declared the entire results. The Union Public Service Commission declares the entire result of all the people. At least, NTA should have declared the results of the one lakh people who would get admission.
CJI then asked Hooda, “How many seats are there in government medical colleges”
Hooda said there are 56,000 seats.
And how many seats in private colleges, the CJI asked.
“There are 52,000 seats in the private colleges,” he said.
So a total of 1.08 lakh seats. If a re-exam happens, the total number is 1.08 lakh and not 23 lakh, the CJI asked.
There is a problem with that argument. Merely because out of 23 lakh only 1 lakh will get admission, we cannot order a re-examination. Re-examination has to be on a concrete footing that the entire exam is affected, the CJI said.
Hooda said that the stake is of only one lakh people, not 23 lakh and segregation of untainted is not possible.
The CJI said, “Conceptually, if you can establish that, then the whole exam will go.”
Justice Pardiwala asked, “We would like to know, out of the 1.08 lakh, how many petitioners are before us?
CJI asked the NTA counsel, “Tell us how many students are involved in the petitioner.”
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde appearing for NTA said some who are within the top 1.08 lakh group are also before the court since they want government seats.
CJI asked the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta what was the minimum mark received by the petitioners.
Solicitor General replied that 131 students are not falling within 1.08 lakh segment which wants a re-test and there are 254 who are falling within 1.08 lakh group and are opposing the re-test.
The CJI then asked NTA, “What is the cut-off mark for the 56,000 (government seats) and the 1.08 lakh?
Hegde replied anybody above the 50 percentile qualifies. 164 is the cut-off mark. About half the petitioners have the qualification to be allotted a seat. Admission is a dynamic process, some may not opt for medicine, and some may go for Indian Institute of Technology. The figures may come down.
The Central government informed the Apex Court that the data analysis conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on the results of NEET-UG 2024 showed no abnormalities and there was very little likelihood of any malpractice.
Hooda said, “I have a handicap. I do not have the results. Because of that, I cannot have the data analytics.”
“If data analysis is to be run for 23 lakh, at what stage, if 10,000 or 20,000 people have sneaked into it, you cannot detect any abnormality. The correct procedure was to apply this process to 1.08 lakh,” Hooda said.
Hooda said that the IIT Madras’s analytics based on 23 lakh students’ performance was not reliable, alleging a conflict of interest since IIT Madras Director was a member of the governing body of the NTA.
Hooda said, there are 571 cities. They say toppers are evenly spread. But the data they give is of only 17 students. Why are they shying away? If they have run it for the top 100, they should give the top 100 details and not just 17.
SG said this chart shows out of students who got first 100 ranks…
Hooda asked, Why give only for 17?
CJI then told the SG that if you have a break-up of the top 100 ranks, you can give. Which are the cities from which they are?
NTA counsel said that the NTA affidavit has annexed the details of the top 100 ranks.
NTA counsel Naresh Kaushik then showed a table consisting of a list of top 100 rankers.
The court later ordered the publication of entire results as petitioners pleaded that doing so would increase public confidence in the NTA.
The hearing is likely to continue on Friday.
