The Supreme Court on Thursday postponed the hearing of the NEET paper leak case to July 18. During the proceedings, the top court observed that some counsels had not received e-copies of the replies submitted by the Centre and the NTA, according to Bar and Bench. Previously, the apex court acknowledged that the integrity of the exam had been compromised and suggested that a retest might be ordered depending on the extent of the malpractice. However, the Centre, in an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court, opposed the idea of a retest, citing a report from IIT Madras that dismissed claims of widespread wrongdoing.
Furthermore, the Centre’s affidavit states that the National Testing Agency (NTA) had analysed the marks distribution among NEET-UG candidates at the national, state, city, and center levels, revealing that the process was normal and unaffected by external factors.
A total of 40 petitions are scheduled for hearing today. The matter will be heard by a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
Earlier, during the hearing on July 8, the Supreme Court instructed the NTA to disclose several details, including the timing and method of the NEET-UG question paper leak, as well as the duration between the leak and the actual examination conducted on May 5..
The apex court also asked the Centre to submit an affidavit detailing the actions taken by the government in response to the paper leak case. Additionally, the CBI was tasked with submitting a status report, having taken over the investigation from the Bihar EOW.