The court noted that certain conditions, particularly if "the time lag between the leak and the exam is limited," might argue against a re-test. The court stated, "If students were asked to memorize (leaked questions) on the morning of the exam, the leak might not have been so widespread."
The three-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said it was therefore loath to order a re-test for nearly 24 lakh students, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who may struggle with the costs associated with travelling to exam centres - unless necessary. A re-test is the "last option," it said.
The court mentioned that the sanctity of the exam was "breached."
NEET-UG 2024 case: Here is the timeline of events
- May 5: The NEET-UG 2024 exam was held at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad.
- May 17: The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and NTA regarding a plea alleging irregularities in the exam.
- June 4: The result for NEET-UG 2024 was declared, with 67 candidates securing the top rank.
- June 11: The Supreme Court, observing that the sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 was compromised, sought responses from the Centre and NTA over a petition for a fresh examination due to alleged question paper leaks and other malpractices.
- June 13: The Centre informed the Supreme Court that it had cancelled grace marks awarded to 1,563 NEET-UG candidates. It stated that these candidates could either retake the exam or forgo the compensatory marks.
- June 14: The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and the testing agency regarding a petition requesting a CBI investigation into the alleged question paper leak and other irregularities in the exam.
- June 18: The Supreme Court stated that even "0.001 per cent negligence" in conducting NEET-UG 2024 should be thoroughly addressed.
- June 23: Out of the 1,563 candidates who were initially given grace marks, 813 students took the re-test.
- July 1: The number of top rankers in NEET-UG 2024 was reduced from 67 to 61 as the NTA declared revised results.
- July 5: The Centre told the Supreme Court that scrapping the NEET-UG 2024 exam entirely would "seriously jeopardize" lakhs of honest students and is not justified without evidence of a large-scale breach.
- July 5: NTA argued to the Supreme Court that cancelling NEET-UG 2024 would be highly counterproductive and detrimental to the public interest, particularly affecting the career prospects of those who passed.
"One thing is clear... questions were leaked. The sanctity of the exam has been compromised... this is beyond doubt. Now we have to establish the extent of the leak," the Chief Justice said, adding, "We have to be careful while ordering a re-test. We are dealing with the careers of lakhs of students."
The Supreme Court stated that a re-test could be considered only if there was an adequate duration (without specifying the exact timeframe) between the leakage of the questions and the conduct of the exam.