India’s top court seeks answers after alleged leak of medical college test

By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) – India’s Supreme Court sought answers Tuesday from the government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) over a petition seeking the cancellation of the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exam, a competitive entrance test for undergraduate medical courses, amid allegations that the question papers were leaked.

"The sanctity of the examination has been compromised...so we need answers," said a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah.

The matter will be heard next month.

It did not halt counselling for the selected students, however, as the admission process has begun.

The Supreme Court sent a notice to the government and NTA seeking an explanation following a petition filed by 10 NEET candidates alleging malpractices during the exam.

The petition asked for the scores from the May 5 exam to be cancelled and for a fresh exam to be held.

After the results were declared, a controversy erupted as 67 students achieved the first rank, triggering allegations that the marks of some candidates were inflated.

Additional petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court.

One of the petitions referred to allegations that the paper was leaked in Patna in northern Bihar state and wrong question papers were given to candidates in Rajasthan, the Indian legal website Bar and Bench reported.

In May this year, over 2 million students sat for the examination, which was held across the country. The results of the exam were declared on June 4, and a total of 1.31 million candidates qualified.

The NTA has rejected the allegations and has decided to form a high-powered committee to analyze the “grievances of 1,600 students who have already appeared for the NEET 2024 exam.”

Earlier this week, student outfits protested in the capital New Delhi seeking a probe over the matter. Opposition parties have also demanded an investigation.