The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an urgent hearing on a petition challenging the holding of the National Eligibility with Entrance Test (NEET-UG) re-test on June 21, after 11 aspirants alleged increased anxiety and stress amid allegations affecting the integrity of examinations and lack of preparation time for the Sunday exam.
“We will not entertain any application for urgent hearing,” Surya Kant, Chief Justice of India (CJI), said while responding to the urgent listing request of the petition filed by 11 NEET aspirants who claimed to have received representations upholding the demands for rescheduling the NEET re-examination on June 21.
Advocate Adeel Ahmed, who represented the petitioners, told the court that the petitioners are not against re-testing of NEET but they are under intense pressure and anxiety over the recent developments. “Candidates are under a lot of stress and anxiety. There are rumors of a paper leak affecting the integrity of the NEET retest as well,” he said, adding that students also expressed concerns about the preparation time for the June 21 exam.
“We know how judicial platforms are being used,” the CJI said and directed that the petition be filed along with other petitions over the alleged NEET paper leak in July.
The petition said that the candidates are already suffering psychological trauma due to the sudden cancellation of the original examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 3. “Retesting in approximately five weeks has caused widespread psychological distress, uncertainty, disruption of academic schedules, and extreme prejudice to candidates across the country,” the petition reads.
“Many candidates had already withdrawn from their preparations after completing the original exam and were then asked to resume preparation for an intensive curriculum under conditions of uncertainty and anxiety,” she added.
Following the NTA’s decision to cancel the NEET (UG) exam on May 10, the Supreme Court took up petitions filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) and the United Doctors Front (UDF) seeking to review the effectiveness of the NTA and the need for independent supervision on the conduct of professional admissions for MBBS admissions, taking into account the fact that over 2.27 million students have appeared this year for the exam.
In August 2024, the Supreme Court dealt with a similar situation when the NEET(UG) paper was leaked. At that time, the Center formed a seven-member committee to participate in the NEET screening process and propose a standard operating procedure (SOP).
This committee, headed by former Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, in her report to the Center in October 2024, recommended far-reaching reforms in the NEET procedure and further strengthening of NTA, inter-state linkages, and smooth coordination with indent testing agencies and testing partners. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been formulated by the committee to prevent future violations in conducting the pen and paper test.
The Center formed another committee on November 14, 2024 to implement these recommendations and issued the Public Inspection (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
On the last date of hearing in the matter on May 29, the court directed the Center to file an affidavit detailing how and in what manner NEET examination will be conducted year after year. The case is scheduled to be heard on July 24.
