NEET UG 2024 Re-Exam: SC Issues Notices on NTA’s Plea Seeking Transfer of Cases on NEET-UG Row From HCs To It

NEET UG 2024 Row: The Supreme Court of India(SC) on Friday issued notices to private parties on a plea of the National Testing Agency seeking the transfer of cases pending in various high courts on the NEET-UG row to the top court to avoid multiplicity of litigation. A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of the submission of the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) counsel that several pleas, seeking cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test–Under Graduate, 2024 on the allegations of question paper leak and other malpractices, are pending in several high courts. “Issue notice,” the bench said, adding they will be taken up for hearing on July 8, news agency PTI reported.
Meanwhile, the NTA said it wanted to withdraw three other petitions, which were seeking the transfer of cases from high courts to the top court, as they pertained to granting of grace marks to 1,563 candidates on account of loss of time during the examination on May 5.
The counsel for the NTA added that the issue has been settled and that he will be intimating the high court about the decision to cancel the compensatory marks given to 1,536 candidates and the consequential June 13 order of the top court.
What was the consequential June 13 order of the top court?
Earlier on Thursday, the Centre and the NTA told the Supreme Court, the apex court that they have cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses. They will have the option to either take a re-test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded to them for loss of time, the centre had said.
These allegations have led to a series of protests taking place across different cities and cases being filed in seven high courts, including the Supreme Court. There was a significant gathering of students in Delhi on June 10, raising their voices to demand an inquiry into alleged irregularities. As many as 67 students scored a perfect 720, unprecedented in the NTA’s history, with six from a centre in Haryana’s Faridabad figuring in the list, raising suspicions about irregularities. It has been alleged that grace marks contributed to 67 students sharing the top rank.