Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed gratitude to the Supreme Court for refusing to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) held on May 5, affirming that there was no systemic breach in the exam. In a post on X, Pradhan stated that the findings and verdict “outrightly reject the propaganda being peddled.” He emphasized that the Supreme Court’s observation of no systemic breach in the NEET-UG exam vindicates the government’s stance.
“The government stands committed to a ‘Tamper-free, Transparent & Zero-error examination system.’ To ensure this, we shall implement the recommendations of the high-level committee of experts as soon as they are submitted,” Pradhan added. He thanked the Supreme Court for delivering justice and protecting the interests of hardworking students, pledging to implement the Court’s judgment in letter and spirit.
However, Congress MP Karti P. Chidambaram disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision, arguing that the integrity of the NEET test is compromised and that basing admissions on its results is unfair to students due to numerous anomalies. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also called for a reassessment of the examination system, citing several complaints and irregularities, including a Gujarat topper who failed her school exams but excelled in NEET and the misallocation of exam centers for Kerala students.
On July 23, the Supreme Court refused to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 examination held on May 5, citing the absence of evidence indicating a systemic breach. The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, stated that the data on record does not suggest a systemic leak of the NEET-UG question paper. While acknowledging isolated leaks in Hazaribagh and Patna, the Court noted that these incidents did not disrupt the overall sanctity of the exam.
The order came in response to multiple pleas seeking to recall NEET-UG 2024 results and conduct a fresh examination due to alleged paper leaks and malpractices. Aspirants had approached the Supreme Court, raising issues of question paper leakage, compensatory marks, and anomalies in the test. The NEET-UG 2024 was held across 4,750 centers on May 5, with around 24 lakh candidates appearing.