NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that it would be implementing all the necessary and progressive steps suggested by its seven-member expert panel on NEET-UG exam reforms process.
The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, senior law officer representing the Centre, told a division bench of the apex court, led by Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Manoj Misra that the seven-member expert panel had submitted its report. The central government said that all the necessary recommendations would be implemented.
“We are going to implement all the recommendations, and the matter can be revisited in six months,” Mehta submitted to the top court.
The bench, after noting the submissions of the Centre, adjourned the case for three months, and said, it would take up for hearing the matter next in April.
It can be noted that the complete report of the seven-member expert panel has not been made public, keeping in view the fact that there was sensitive information about the printing and handling of exam papers.
In a detailed order on August 2, 2024, the apex court rejected a batch of pleas seeking a direction for holding NEET-UG 2024 afresh, after noting that "there was no systemic breach" to cancel the exam.
Later also, a review petition was filed by one Kajal Kumari requesting the SC to hear, reconsider and modify its' August 2 order. It was also rejected by the top court.
On August 2, while passing seven-step directions for a robust, fully secured, transparent exam system, the top court in its detailed judgement directed a slew of measures and steps to be taken while conducting the NEET-UG exam to ensure an unbiased, impartial and robust system to make a full proof and a transparent exam, while admitted that there was not systemic breach to cancel the exam.
On August 2, a bench of the top court, led by now-retired Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud passed the judgement after hearing a batch of petitions filed by many students, who alleged malpractices and other irregularities in the exam. The hearing took place for four days from petitioners, respondents - Centre, NTA (National Testing Agency) - and other parties in the case.
It had also expanded the scope of the seven-member expert panel, headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan, to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and recommend exam reforms to make the NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate), transparent and free from malpractices.
The top court directed to ensure rigorous checks from making question papers to the point of being checked, streamline an SOP to check handling, storage etc., enhance identity checks at various stages, and technological innovations to check impersonation and take into account privacy law.
"The NTA must avoid the flip-flops, it made in relation to the NEET-UG 2024 exam. Such flip-flops in a national exam do not serve the interests of the students," the CJI reading out the verdict had said.
Widening the scope and ambit of the Radhakrishnan expert committee constituted by the government to look into the NEET-UG paper leak and other irregularities, the top court had said, the committee should encompass these seven steps to have a robust exam process.
Those were -
Evaluation committee
Standard Operating Procedure
Review the process of alloting exam centre
Processes for enhanced identity checks
CCTV monitoring of exam centres
Secure logistic providers for ensuring non-tempering of papers
recommend a robust grievance redressal mechanism.
"The viability of using closed vehicles with real-time locks rather than open e rickshaws to be considered," the CJI had said.