NEET 2021 news: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking its direction to the National Testing Agency to cancel the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate, or NEET UG 2021, and hold the exam again. If NEET is cancelled, lakhs of students will suffer, the Supreme Court bench of Justices LN Rao and BR Gavai observed.
The petition, filed by undergraduate medical aspirants, alleged paper leak and malpractices in the entrance exam. It cited FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding involvement of coaching centres and paper solving gangs in the matter.
Cheating in the exam is “a matter of grave concern regarding the student's future and a breach of sanctity and security of the examination”, the plea stated.
The petitioners had also requested the Supreme Court to stay the declaration of results during the pendency of the plea.
The Supreme Court in its order said a national-level exam that 7.5 lakh students have taken cannot be cancelled on the basis of five FIRs.
“You know that the Court is not going to interfere with an exam where 7 and a half lakh students have taken on the basis of five FIRs, how can the exam be cancelled,” the top court said.
The top court initially imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh on the counsel but later removed it with a warning. “Costs will not be imposed this time but we will remember you. Next time there is such a case, we will definitely impose costs on you,” the SC said.