The Supreme Court has started hearing on more than 40 petitions related to the UGC-NEET examination. During the hearing on Thursday, the apex court has also put a condition for conducting the examination again. The court says that it is necessary to prove on ‘solid grounds’ that the examination has been affected on a large scale. The special thing is that the court has given priority to the petitions related to this matter.
Chief Justice of India CJI DY Chandrachud said, ‘Just because only 1 lakh out of 23 lakh will get admission, we cannot order a re-examination. The re-examination should be done on the solid basis that the entire examination has been affected.’ CJI told advocate Narendra Hooda, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners, that it should be proved that the paper leak was so systematic and it has affected the entire examination.
Also Read: DMRC introduces luggage check-in service for international passengers at these Metro station
During the hearing, the court asked Hooda about the number of medical seats in the country. On this, the court was told that the number is 1 lakh 8 thousand. Also, it was argued that if the exam is conducted again, then 1 lakh 8 thousand will have to retest. He said that 22 lakh will not be able to qualify. On this, the CJI asked what will happen if someone is not able to get into 1 lakh 8 thousand seats through legitimate means.
Hooda replied that all these 22 lakh students would want a second chance. The CJI said that we cannot order a re-examination just because they want to take the paper again. The court said that this can happen only if the sanctity of the examination is affected.
The special thing is that the Center and NTA i.e. National Testing Agency have opposed the demand for re-examination. They say that some of the alleged irregularities are local and have not affected the entire examination. An affidavit has also been filed by the Central Government, which mentions the data analytics of IIT Madras. This shows that there are no signs of large-scale irregularities in the examination.