New Delhi

The Supreme Court of India on Friday (Aug 2) said there was no systemic breach in the conduct of the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test - Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG 2024) examination. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was providing detailed reasons for its July 23 order when it refused to cancel the exams held on May 5. 

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The court said the paper leak was limited to Patna, Hazaribagh and that there was no material to show it was widespread and affected the sanctity of the exam.  

The court highlighted that a re-examination will lead to serious consequences affecting over 2.3 million students as it will lead to disruption of the academic schedule, causing a domino effect in the coming years.

The court, however, gave a rap to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and suggested it to avoid "flip-flops" it made during the conduct of the exam.

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"Such flip-flops in a national exam do not serve the interests of the students," said the court adding that the expert committee must rectify the deficiencies in the exam system.

The court's reasoning comes a day after Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its first chargesheet in the case against 13 accused persons for the leak in Bihar's Patna. The agency has invoked Sections 120B, 201, 409, 380, 411, 420, and 109 of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) and substantive offences against them.

Watch | India: Supreme Court declines NEET-UG re-test

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What is the NEET-UG scam?

The controversy emerged after an unusually high number of students scored the perfect 720 score in the exam. Suspicions were raised after 67 students scored the full marks with a coaching institute in Haryana responsible for six of those students. 

Initially, it was reported that NTA offered grace marks due to a faulty question which led to the full marks. However, subsequent investigations revealed that the exam paper had been leaked to select candidates, a day before the exam.

Also read | NEET-UG exam row: Student who got leaked papers scored only 185 marks out of 720 

The case went to the SC with a section of students demanding that NTA conduct re-examination. The opposition parties, led by Congress' Rahul Gandhi launched an attack on the central government and called it out for corrupt practices to infiltrate the exams deciding the future of the country. 

Despite the clamour from all sides, the apex court last month said there will be no re-test for the NEET exam as no data suggested that the 'sanctity' of the examination was breached.  

(With inputs from agencies)