New Delhi. The Supreme Court on Friday refused to postpone the NEET-UG counseling process scheduled to begin on July 6, saying it was not a process that could be started and stopped whenever one wanted. Along with this, the political controversy over the issue continued. The National Examination Agency (NTA), which is facing criticism for flaws in conducting NEET and UGC-NET, is preparing to re-conduct the medical entrance exam for 1,563 candidates on Sunday. These candidates were awarded grace marks due to loss of time at six centers.
Meanwhile, the Congress held protests across the country over alleged irregularities in the related exam and demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan did not attend the Yoga Day event at Delhi University, where some students had protested against the alleged irregularities. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on the government, saying the issue has become a national problem under the BJP rule, which has “ruined the future” of crores of youth.
The protests came a day after Pradhan ruled out any immediate action towards cancelling NEET. The education minister had said on Thursday that the government cannot risk the careers of lakhs of students who have rightly cleared the exam due to sporadic incidents of malpractice. According to NTA officials, a re-examination for 1,563 candidates will be held at seven centres on Sunday.
A senior NTA official said, “All other exam centres have changed, but one centre in Chandigarh will remain the same, where only two candidates will appear. Apart from this, officials of the agency and the Union Education Ministry will also be present at these centres. This step has been taken to ensure smooth conduct of the re-examination.”
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati demanded strict action against the main accused in the NEET-UG question paper leak case. Mayawati said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’ that the government should take strict action against the main accused in the NEET paper leak case, as innocent students are suffering due to this. The former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh also said that it is not right to do politics under the guise of paper leak.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be requested to recommend a CBI inquiry into the suspicious relations of the main suspect arrested in the NEET ‘paper leak’ case with officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Sinha had claimed on Thursday that officials associated with Tejashwi Yadav were in constant touch with Sikandar Prasad Yadavendu, the main suspect in the NEET ‘paper leak’ case.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 was held on May 5 at 4,750 centers, in which about 24 lakh candidates participated. Unprecedentedly in the history of NTA, 67 students scored full 720 marks, including the names of six candidates from a center in Faridabad, Haryana. This gave rise to suspicion of irregularities. It is alleged that 67 students reached the top rank by giving grace marks.
The Supreme Court heard the matter on Friday and refused to postpone the counseling process proposed from July 6 and said that this is not a process that can be started and stopped whenever one wants. The apex court has issued notices to the National Examination Agency (NTA), the Central Government and others on a petition seeking cancellation of NEET-UG over alleged irregularities in the examination held on May 5.
The vacation bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice SVN Bhatti fixed the next hearing of this case along with other pending petitions alleging rigging in the examination for July 8. The advocate appearing for the petitioners requested the bench that the counseling process can be stopped for two days, as the Supreme Court is going to hear all these petitions on July 8.
The advocate argued, “I am not requesting adjournment of counselling. I am only praying that the counselling scheduled for July 6 be postponed for only two days. The reason for this is that the main case is listed on July 8.” The bench said, “We are hearing the same kind of statements. Do not take it otherwise as interruption. Counselling does not mean ‘start and stop’. It is a process, which is starting from July 6.”
Tags: NEET, net exam, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED : June 21, 2024, 23:11 IST