As the Supreme Court gears up to hear on Thursday a clutch of petition demanding the re-conduct of NEET-UG 2024 due to alleged paper leaks and other malpractices, the group of students challenging the results of the all India examination claimed a “systematic fraud” that compromised the sanctity of the examination and eroded trust in medical education across the country.
The consolidated written submissions by the petitioners presented a detailed set of arguments, arguing that NEET-UG 2024 was marred by cheating and inefficiencies, citing multiple instances that they claim have undermined the credibility of the examination process.
The petitioners allege that the NEET-UG 2024 paper was leaked on a “massive scale” – both digitally and physically, and not only in Patna, as claimed by the Union government and the National Testing Agency (NTA). This claim was supported by investigations conducted by the Bihar Police, argued the students, adding it is impossible to determine the exact number of beneficiaries of the leak, given the sophisticated methods used.
Also Read | Leak in NEET clear, no room for denial, says SC
“Question paper was circulated on a Telegram channel one day prior to the scheduled examination i.e. on 04.5.2024 at 12.02 AM. This breach of security has raised significant concerns regarding the integrity and fairness of the examination process. Given the nature of social media and modern communication platforms, it is impossible to accurately determine the full extent of the leak and identify all beneficiaries. This phenomenon makes it extremely challenging to segregate and pinpoint individuals who may have gained an unfair advantage,” stated the submissions.
The 10-page note added that a press release issued by the Bihar government on June 23 stated that security standards provided by NTA, which also include the guidelines for transportation, storage and hand over of the question paper, was not fully complied with. “Therefore, it is impossible to segregated the beneficiaries of paper leak as there is a systematic failure in the entire examination process,” it said.
This averment assumes significance in view of the Supreme Court’s remarks on Monday that a determination of whether the paper leak was systemic or localised was imperative so as to decide whether to order a re-conduct of the exam or to find ways to segregate the wrongdoers, in order to avoid the loss of resources and potential setbacks to the careers of nearly 2.4 million students who appeared for the exam on May 5.
Also Read | NEET-UG paper leak: CBI arrests two persons, including a candidate, from Bihar
The petitioners in the case are represented through senior counsel Narender Hooda, Sanjay Hegde, Amit Anand Tiwari, Santosh Paul, Basant R, and advocates Charu Mathur, Mathews J Nedumpara, Suhaas Ratna Joshi, A Karthik, Tanvi Dubey and Sunny Kadiyan. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appears for the Centre while senior counsel Naresh Kaushik and advocate Vardhman Kaushik represent NTA.
The petitioners further claimed that there was manipulation of OMR sheets at examination centers, a fact that has been proven by the Gujarat Police and acknowledged by the NTA and the government. They argue that this manipulation could have occurred at multiple centres, further compromising the integrity of the examination.
The note, submitted through nodal counsel Sumit Kumar Sharma, claimed that the high inflation in NEET-UG 2024 scores cannot be attributed to a single paper leak incident in Patna. They argue that the widespread nature of the fraud, involving paper leaks, OMR sheet tampering and misuse of compensatory marks, points to a systematic fraud at a mass level.
Highlighting that 67 students scored perfect scores of 720 and achieved an All India Rank (AIR) 1, the students claimed that it was an anomalous and suspicious outcome. They also point to instances where multiple students from the same centre, with similar roll numbers, scored improbably high marks.
“The recent NEET paper leak and subsequent irregularities have severely compromised the sanctity and fairness of the NEET UG 2024 examination. This breach of trust not only undermines the integrity of the examination process but also casts serious doubts on the credibility of the results obtained,” stated the note.
According to the petitioners, NTA resorted to the “flimsy ground” of high performance standards causing high cut-off, which they said is not sustainable in the eyes of law, “being unjust and unreasonable and contrary to settled pattern of the previous years”.
The petitioners further claimed that NTA made several contradictory statements. Initially, NTA denied any paper leak in press releases dated May 5 and 6, 2024, but later admitted to a leak in Patna in a counter affidavit. Similarly, NTA initially claimed that a loss of time occurred at only one center (Swai Madhopur in Rajasthan) but later awarded compensatory marks to 1,563 students across multiple centers, the note pointed out.
Arguing that NTA has demonstrated a lack of transparency throughout the examination process, the petitioners highlighted that the NEET-UG 2024 results were declared 10 days before the scheduled date of June 14, 2024, contending that this premature declaration too raised serious concerns about the transparency and consistency of the examination process.
NTA has not published details about the candidates who received compensatory marks, nor have they disclosed the criteria used for awarding these marks, stated the note, adding that the lack of disclosure prevents similarly situated candidates from seeking redress.
The students further alleged that NTA arbitrarily awarded compensatory marks without prior notice or established criteria. They argued that this “pick and choose” approach lacks transparency and fairness.
The petitioners also pointed to the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam conducted by the NTA on June 19, 2024, due to a similar paper leak and systematic fraud, as further evidence of the NTA’s compromised processes.
“NEET UG 2024 paper leak and other illegalities have significant social and global repercussions, highlighting the need for systemic reforms and robust security measures to restore faith in the examination system and ensure fair opportunities for all students…The NEET scandal has attracted international attention, potentially tarnishing India’s reputation in the global education sector,” stated the note.
