In a decisive ruling, the Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the NEET-UG 2024 exam held on May 5, despite allegations of paper leaks and malpractice. The Court emphasized that the cancellation of such an exam is only warranted if systemic compromise is evident and separating tainted candidates from untainted ones is unfeasible.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, clarified that an exam’s cancellation is justified solely in scenarios where systemic integrity is breached and distinguishing between affected and unaffected candidates is impossible. The Court underscored that any examination cancellation should be proportionate to the scale of the grievance and the extent of corruption.
The Court detailed several criteria for considering an exam’s cancellation:
- Proportionality of Re-examination: Assessing whether a new exam is justified by the nature of the grievance and the level of exam integrity compromised.
- Extent of Malpractice: Determining the proportion of candidates involved in malpractice.
- Feasibility of Separation: Evaluating if it is possible to differentiate between those who engaged in malpractice and those who did not.
- Substantiation of Allegations: Reviewing the evidence and investigative reports to confirm malpractice claims.
The Court noted that the standard for proving systemic malpractice should not be excessively stringent, but there must be substantial evidence of widespread issues. In the current case, despite instances of score inflation, paper leaks, and other irregularities, the Court found no indication of a systemic breach.
It was concluded that there is no evidence suggesting widespread dissemination of the question paper or sophisticated cheating methods that would warrant a re-examination. With investigations revealing specific cases of malpractice, it is possible to identify and separate those affected by fraud from the honest candidates.
Thus, the Supreme Court has decided against canceling the NEET-UG 2024 exam, affirming the exam’s integrity and rejecting calls for a re-test.
