NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed reservations over entertaining a PIL seeking directions to the government to prevent paper leaks in competitive examinations, asking, "What and how much can the court do?"
The court adjourned the hearing by a week in view of the pending NEET paper leak case, in which it is already examining broader issues related to the examination system.
A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe said, "It's not a matter for us (to pass orders)."
The court also observed that it is already monitoring petitions raising structural concerns with the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the NEET examination.
Amid the recent NEET paper leak that affected lakhs of students, petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay filed the PIL in the top court seeking the creation of a standard investigation procedure for paper leak cases. He argued that the same standard operating procedure (SOP) should be followed wherever paper leaks occur in the country.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Upadhyay, submitted that the plea broadly seeks a time-bound investigation mechanism and measures to trace and confiscate the properties of those involved in paper leak rackets.
"In the last 10 years, more than 25 paper leaks have taken place, affecting around 2.5 crore people. The biggest reason is that our law is weak. There is no time-bound investigation, no standard operating procedure (SOP), and no provision for time-bound trials in paper leak cases. Only the small players are caught, while the masterminds remain untouched. Their properties are not even investigated to determine how much wealth they have accumulated through paper leaks," Upadhyay said in his PIL.
The petitioner further said the investigation should be completed within three months and the trials should conclude within one year. He also argued that not just those who distribute leaked papers should be caught, but also the masterminds and everyone involved in the nexus.