New Delhi: The Centre has submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court about the integrity of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024 examination. In the affidavit submitted Wednesday, the Centre said that there is no indication of mass malpractice and that data did not show any signs of widespread cheating. It also said that no evidence suggests that candidates from any specific place received benefits in the exam process.
On Monday, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud had heard the public interest litigations (PILs) seeking re-conduction of the NEET UG 2024 by the National Testing Agency (NTA), and said that the sanctity of the exam has been compromised and if the leak beneficiary is not identified, the retest must happen.
“If the modality of the paper leak is through electronic means, such as social media, the leak may be widespread,” the CJI said.
Approximately 24 lakh students had applied for this year’s NEET exam. Following the results, significant rank inflation was observed, prompting students and parents to protest against the NTA over irregularities. This led to the filing of multiple PILs in the SC
The Supreme Court will again hear the matter Thursday.
In its affidavit to the SC, the Centre has said, “The technical analysis of NEET-2024 data conducted by experts from IIT Madras shows that there was no indication of mass malpractice, nor was there any evidence of local candidates being unduly benefited.”
The analysis was done by a team of experts from IIT Madras, known for its technical expertise. The submission has come in response to PILs challenging the conduct of the NEET-2024 examination and seeking a reexamination. The Supreme Court had directed the Centre to provide a detailed analysis to address their concerns.
IIT-Madras’s report has said that the overall increase in the marks obtained by the students is seen across the cities and centers.
“This is attributable to a 25 percent reduction in syllabus. In addition, candidates obtaining such marks are spread across multiple cities and centres, indicating very little likelihood of malpractice,” reads IIT Madras’s report.
Meanwhile, the NTA, too, has filed an affidavit before the SC saying that the Telegram videos allegedly showing photos leaked in NEET UG 2024 paper were manipulated.
“The video in question allegedly shows a photo of the exam paper leaked on Telegram on May 4, but one image, which was edited, displays a timestamp of 17:40 pm on May 5, 2024. Additionally, discussions within the Telegram channel indicate that members identified the video as fake,” reads the affidavit filed Wednesday.