NEET-UG Cancellation : Revisiting Supreme Court's Advice To NTA After 2024 Paper Leak

In the July 2024 judgment in Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India, the Supreme Court attempted to lay down a constitutional and institutional roadmap for dealing with large-scale examination fraud in India, in the context of paper leaks in the NEET UG examination of 2024.Nearly two years later, the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 due to allegations of a widespread leak network, and writ petitions seeking the dissolution of the National Testing Agency (NTA) due to “systemic failure”, have once again brought attention to the standards evolved by the Supreme Court in the 2024 judgment and the subsequent reform measures proposed for the examination system.In Vanshika Yadav, the Supreme Court refused to cancel NEET-UG 2024 despite acknowledging that a paper leak had in fact occurred in Hazaribagh and Patna. The Court held that cancellation of a national examination is justified only where the sanctity of the exam stands compromised at a “systemic level” and where it is impossible to separate tainted candidates from untainted ones.Criteria For Cancelling Public Exams On Grounds Of MalpracticeThe bench of then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra evolved a proportionality test for judicial intervention in examinations. The Court held that the following factors are relevant to decide whether an exam should be cancelled entirely due to malpractice –Whether re-examination would be proportionate to the nature of the malpractice.The number of students involved.Whether beneficiaries could be segregated from honest candidates.Whether the allegations were substantiated by material on record. The Court stressed that isolated fraud and systemic collapse are not the same thing. It held that the available material did not establish a widespread leak across the country. According to the CBI material before the Court at that stage, around 155 students from Hazaribagh and Patna appeared to be beneficiaries of the fraud. The Court concluded that these students were identifiable, and the beneficiaries could be segregated from honest candidates.The Court also attached weight to the practical consequences of cancellation. It noted that over 23 lakh students had appeared for NEET-UG 2024 and that a fresh examination would disrupt admissions, delay medical education, affect future availability of doctors and disproportionately burden students from marginalised backgrounds.However, the judgment was far from a clean chit to the NTA. The Court devoted an entire section of the judgment to NTA's conduct titled, “The conduct of NTA: Cause for concern.” Court's Criticism Of NTA's ConductThe Court recorded serious security and administrative failures in NTA's conduct of the exam. It noted that in Hazaribagh, the rear door of a strongroom was opened and unauthorised persons gained access to question papers. It found that question papers were transported in e-rickshaws and through private courier companies.The Court also highlighted that OMR sheets were not required to be sealed within a fixed timeline after the examination, creating a possibility of tampering after candidates left examination halls. It criticised the NTA's dependence on invigilators over whom it exercised no direct oversight.Another major concern related to the distribution of incorrect question papers. The Court noted that in twelve centres, papers in custody of the Canara Bank were mistakenly distributed instead of those in the custody of SBI, which were meant to be the actual question papers. Around 3,307 candidates wrote the wrong paper set, it found.The Court was equally critical of the NTA's handling of grace marks. Initially, 1,563 students were awarded compensatory marks for loss of examination time. The decision was later reversed and those candidates were offered a re-test. The Court held that such conduct was “an anathema to fairness.”The then Chief Justice remarked that the NTA “must now avoid the flip flops which it has made in this case.” While Court recorded serious concern, it also held that those issues did not lead to the conclusion that the integrity of the NEET was vitiated at a systemic level.Importantly, the Court did not stop with refusing cancellation. It issued comprehensive directions to prevent such instances of exam fraud in the future. Directions For Structural ReformsThe Court expanded the mandate of a seven-member expert committee constituted by the Union Government under former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan. The Court directed the committee to recommend reforms on examination security, transportation of papers, CCTV surveillance, candidate verification, encryption protocols, technological safeguards, real-time monitoring, grievance redressal and international best practices. The Court specifically directed the committee to examine the viability of comprehensive CCTV surveillance, surprise inspections, secure transportation systems, digital tracking and stricter identity verification mechanisms.Supreme Court's...

NEET-UG Cancellation : Revisiting Supreme Court's Advice To NTA After 2024 Paper Leak

Amisha Shrivastava

"NTA must now avoid the flip-flops which it has made in this case," the Court had said in 2024.

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NEET-UG Cancellation : Revisiting Supreme Court's Advice To NTA After 2024 Paper Leak

Amisha Shrivastava

"NTA must now avoid the flip-flops which it has made in this case," the Court had said in 2024.

This is a premium content Available exclusively to Our subscribers

INR 1099+GST

Tags

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