On Friday, the Supreme Court once again declined to pause the NEET-UG 2024 counseling process. However, the court issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid ongoing concerns.

A vacation bench delivered this decision while hearing pleas demanding an investigation, cancellation, and retest of the NEET-UG 2024 exam due to allegations of question paper leaks and other malpractices.

Previously, on Thursday, the Supreme Court had already issued a notice regarding an NTA request to consolidate all petitions related to the NEET-UG 2024 exam from various High Courts to the Supreme Court. Justice Vikram Nath, leading the bench, stayed proceedings in different High Courts but allowed the counseling process to proceed.

Additionally, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and the NTA in response to a petition from students who took the NEET-UG exam at the Meghalaya center. These students claimed they lost 45 minutes during the exam and requested to be included among the 1,563 students granted grace marks and offered a re-exam on June 23. The Court has scheduled a hearing for these pleas on July 8.

NEET Paper Leak Allegations
The NEET-UG 2024 exam, conducted on May 5, had its results announced on June 4, ten days ahead of the initially scheduled date. This early release sparked protests over alleged irregularities and paper leaks, as the results showed 67 students achieving a perfect score of 720. Consequently, petitions seeking a re-test were filed in courts.

The Supreme Court has approved a re-test for over 1,500 students who received "grace marks." On June 13, the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the scorecards of these 1,563 candidates would be canceled, offering them the option to retake the exam on June 23 or forgo the compensatory marks awarded for lost time. The results of the re-exam are expected before June 30.

The NEET-UG examination, organized by the NTA, is a crucial gateway for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in both government and private institutions nationwide.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court reiterated the importance of meticulous conduct in the NEET-UG 2024 examination. A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti emphasized to the advocates representing the Centre and the NTA that even minimal negligence in the exam process would be thoroughly addressed.

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