KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the National Testing Agency(NTA) to file a detailed statement explaining the manner in which the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted.
The NTA should also explain the inquiry conducted on the incident in which the girl candidates were forced to remove their innerwear at an exam centre in Kollam last month. The statement should be filed with all supporting documents.
A Division Bench issued the order on the petition filed by Asif Azad, a Party-in-Person, seeking compensation to the girl students who are forced to remove their innerwear which caused mental trauma and stress before the exam.
The petitioner also sought to introduce a common protocol for the conduct of NEET. As per the complaint, the incident took place after metallic hooks were detected in the innerwear of some girls during the screening. Many girl students were asked to remove their innerwear if they wanted to attempt the exam, causing severe emotional distress.
S Nirmal, counsel for the NTA submitted that with regard to the alleged incident, a crime has been registered. The petitioner had made inappropriate averments against the agency, which had conducted the NEET examination for nearly three lakhs students across the country. Besides, the petition did not satisfy the requirements of public interest litigation.
The government pleader also acknowledged the fact of the registration of crime and had taken notice on behalf of the Director General of Police.
The petitioner pointed out that it was not the first time that such an incident happened. A similar incident took place in 2017 at Kannur and four teachers of a school were suspended for asking a girl to remove her innerwear before entering the exam hall.