New Delhi

India's Supreme Court on Thursday (June 27) pulled up the apex entrance examination body National Testing Agency (NTA) over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) whose results decide admission to undergraduate medicine courses. Supreme Court's observations came on a petition filed by an e-learning application that claimed "inconsistent" calculation of marks on the OMR sheets. 

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A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti has sought a response from NTA by July 8. This is the day when the hearing of the matter, clubbed with other petitions in the controversy, will take place.

According to the petition, several students alleged that they did not receive OMR sheets in time. The bench has asked for the NTA's response on the time limit to raise the grievances related to the OMR sheets.

Also read | NEET controversy: Bihar aspirant admits he received question paper a day before exam

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"Let us know if there is a timeline to provide the OMR sheets. As of now we will tag it. Let NTA seek instructions on this," the court noted and tagged the petition with others for July 8.

During the hearing, the bench also pulled up coaching centres, saying they have "no role to play". 

Also watch | Neet-UG row: Maharashtra police uncover Neet-UG racket in Bihar

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"This is one of the reasons where we see this role played by the coaching centres, bagpipers. They have hardly any role to play. Their obligation and duty...if they have discharged their service that is the end of the matter. They have not undertaken to see that everything that Centre is supposed to do will be taken care of by them," Justice Bhatti said.

Apart from the Supreme Court's consistent judicial oversight, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been investigating several cases related to the alleged irregularities and malpractices in the NEET-UG exam held last month.

The cases are spread across several states, and a number of people have been arrested in recent days in connection with the controversy.

(With inputs from agencies)