NEET UG 2021 Exam: SC rejects plea seeking cancellation of test conducted on 12 September

A plea seeking cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2021 due to alleged malpractice and paper leak has been rejected by the Supreme Court today, 4 October. The plea stated that the NEET undergraduate exam, conducted on 12 September, was not held in a fair and transparent manner. The court has dismissed the plea stating that the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam cannot be at the cost of lakhs of students. “What kind of writs are filed under Article 32? Lakhs of people have taken these exams? You now want to cancel the entire exam? You argue, we’ll deal with this at length and we’ll deal with you specially," informed the bench which was headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao. Furthermore, Justice Rao told the council seeking direction to conduct fresh exams that the court will not cancel the NEET-UG exam for which 7.5 lakh people have appeared. Additionally, the apex court also criticised the petitioner for filing the petition. He later warned that a cost would be imposed for filing such a plea. For the uninitiated, a 20-year-old identified as Saloni, filed the petition seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG exam that was conducted last month. In her appeal, the petitioner citing alleged malpractices and requested the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the exam afresh. Advocate Ninad Dogra, who appeared for the petitioner, submitted a report that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered three FIRs in this case so far and also found examination papers that were leaked on WhatsApp. On the day of the examination, Rajasthan Police had made several arrests in regards to the case. The people who were arrested are 18-year-old candidate identified as Dineshwari Kumari , her uncle, along with invigilator Ram Singh, also Mukesh, who was in charge of the exam centre’s administration unit, and four others nabbed in connection with the case.