The NTA opposed the petition to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 exam, stating there was no systemic failure.

Like the Central Government, the National Testing Agency (NTA) also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing petitions to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 exam. The NTA stated that the alleged instances of misconduct were isolated and limited to centers in two cities, Patna and Godhra. It argued that canceling the entire exam would be “highly detrimental to the larger public interest” of millions of students who had taken the exam.

The NTA claimed that the alleged misconduct neither affected the “sanctity” of the exam nor provided any “undue advantage” to the students who took the exam at those centers. It maintained that the NEET-UG 2024 exam, conducted for 2.3 million students across 4750 centers in 571 cities, did not face any “systemic failure” and was not compromised by isolated incidents of unfair means and paper leaks.

The affidavit stated:

“The performance charts of students at these centers indicate that their performance was neither unusually high nor significantly different from the national average performance at other centers. The data suggests that students from the concerned centers did not achieve scores that would qualify them for admission to premier medical colleges.”

Detailing the actions taken, the NTA mentioned that the Patna center’s malpractice involved stealing copies of question papers. These copies were allegedly used to solve questions and coach the involved candidates. However, the number of candidates who benefited from this was “extremely low.”

The affidavit further stated:

“Based on the revelations so far, it is humbly submitted that the alleged incident/attempt of the leak does not impact the conduct of the entire examination, as the number of students/candidates involved is negligible compared to the total number of candidates. Canceling the entire exam based on these factors would be very detrimental and harmful to the broader public interest and the career prospects of meritorious candidates.”

Regarding the misconduct at the Godhra center, it was argued that it was orchestrated by an exam superintendent named Tushar Bhatt. He allegedly conspired with some students to fill in their OMR sheets after their exam was completed. However, the authorities had already resolved this issue, and the accused had been arrested in time.

The affidavit stated:

“Like the Godhra case, the investigation of this incident, initially conducted by the local police, has now been handed over to the central investigation agency, CBI. Several arrests have already been made, and some identified students, considered beneficiaries of the misconduct, have also been arrested along with the masterminds.”

Highlighting the steps taken by the agency to ensure the exam was conducted fairly and with proper confidentiality, it was stated that there was no “systemic failure” in the current examination. It was also mentioned that in the last week of March 2024, the Director-General (NTA) had issued DO letters to the Chief Secretaries and DGPs of all states/UTs, as well as to DMs/DCs and Police Commissioners/SPs, for guidance/assistance in ensuring compliance with the law and maintaining the integrity of the exam process.

The affidavit stated:

“Considering the sensitivity of a high-stakes exam like NEET-UG 2024, candidates were verified at the exam centers through Aadhaar authentication to curb impersonation.”

Additionally, the NTA stated that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had already begun investigating the alleged malpractices, and any conclusive opinion on systemic failure could only be made after thorough consideration of all relevant factors.

It was submitted that canceling the entire exam process without any solid reason would be highly detrimental to the academic careers of millions of students who had taken the exam without any wrongdoing. The NTA stated that it had withheld the results of students involved in malpractice and issued show-cause notices for punitive action and expulsion.

The affidavit also cited the case of Sachin Kumar and others vs. DSSSB and others, (2021) 4 SCC 631, where the Supreme Court had said that innocent people should not pay the price for those involved in irregularities. By isolating the wrongdoers, the selection of meritorious candidates could be allowed to reach its logical conclusion.

The NTA’s affidavit was filed in the case of Vanshika Yadav vs. UOI, where the petition requested that the NEET UG exams be conducted afresh due to alleged malpractices and paper leaks.

However, the bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud issued a notice on that petition and posted the matter for July but said that the results of exams conducted on an all-India basis could not be stayed.

Earlier, the Central Government had also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam, stating that canceling the entire exam without evidence of widespread confidentiality breaches was not rational.

In an affidavit filed by the Ministry of Education before the Supreme Court hearing on July 8, it was stated:

“Canceling the entire examination would severely jeopardize the honest candidates who took the exam in 2024.”