NEET-UG exam results are to be published in their entirety - cross-referenced by city and centre - by noon Saturday, the Supreme Court told the National Testing Agency - which is under-fire over allegations of leaked question papers and violation of marking protocol - on Thursday afternoon.
The identities of the students will, however, remain masked, the court instructed the NTA.
"...the fact is there was a leak in Patna (in Bihar) and Hazaribagh (in Jharkhand). Question papers were disseminated. We want to find out if this was confined to those centres or widespread..."
READ | NEET-UG Paper Leak Had Genesis In Hazaribagh School: CBI
"Students are at a handicap because they do not know the results. We want the students' identity to be masked.... but let us see, centre-wise, what was the mark pattern..." the court explained.
The next hearing in this case has been set for Monday, July 22.
The call for city- and centre-wise marks underlines the focus this hearing has taken - a deep-dive into data about the precise number of students who sat for the exam and passed, as well as the number who have asked for a re-test or for results to be scrapped, and those opposing any intervention.
City- and centre-wise marks, the court believes, will help establish the skew, if any, in high-scoring results that could indicate candidates from that city or centre had access to the leaked papers.
In an earlier affidavit the NTA referred to an analysis by IIT Madras that said there was an "overall increase in marks obtained... specifically in the range of 550 to 720 across cities and centres".
READ | Why So Many NEET-UG Toppers? Exam Body's Reply In Court
This, however, was attributed to changes in the exam syllabus.
One of the red flags when this row broke was the number of high scores - a record 67 students, including six from a coaching centre in Haryana's Bahadurgarh, which was mentioned today.
The order to publish followed a plea by the petitioners. They argued that making the scores public would increase public confidence in the NTA. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the exam agency, opposed the request on grounds the test results were students' private property.
"Entire results are never published... they are the personal property of students," Mr Mehta reasoned, but the court seemed unimpressed, stating, "We the NTA to publish marks obtained by students in NEET-UG 2024 exam, while ensuring the identity of each student is masked."
The order to breakdown these results by city and centre was also opposed.
The court also sought reports from Bihar; state police filed the first case in this matter, which has since been linked to a national 'solver gang' active in Jharkhand, Gujarat, Delhi, and Maharashtra.
"Sanctity Of Exam...": Supreme Court
The court's order followed a day of intense arguments over a clutch of petitions seeking a repeat, or cancellation, of the qualifying examination for undergraduate medical courses in the country. The original exam - attended by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical professionals - was held on May 5
The court said it would only order a re-test if the "sanctity" of the exam was "lost on a large scale" as a result of leaked questions. The remark was an echo of observations made last week, when the court said the "sanctity" of the exam had been affected and demanded answers. The court then, however, had advised against a re-test, saying certain circumstances would argue against it.
READ | "NEET-UG Re-Test Only If Sanctity Of Exam Affected": Top Court
"You (the petitioners) have to show us the leak was systematic... it affected the entire exam... so as to warrant cancellation of the entire exam..." a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said this morning, "Because of 23 lakh students only one lakh will get admission... we cannot order re-test."
On Exam Paper Leak, IIT Madras Report
Earlier today Mr Mehta and senior advocate Narender Hooda, appearing for the petitioners, exchanged complex arguments on the alleged paper leak, and protocol for transfer of the exam papers from printing centre to exam halls, and the IIT Madras report on distribution of marks.
The NTA told the court IIT Madras' report showed mark distribution followed a bell-shaped curve normal to any large-scale examination, and indicated no abnormality. Mr Hooda, however, argued it would be difficult to establish variances given a data set as large as all students, i.e., nearly 24 lakh.
"The (bell-shape) curve is no indication there is no abnormality because the data is too large... which cannot be caught. Granular variations can't be seen with this..."
Questions over transportation were flagged after CBI suggested a leak - either while the papers were being taken to centres or after they arrived at the Hazaribagh school the agency sees as Ground Zero.
"One trunk (of question papers) was found travelling on an e-rickshaw on May 3 in Hazaribagh under the open sky... it was received by the Principal of the school (who has been arrested)," Mr Hooda said.
The NTA, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, refused any suggestion of a leak and pointed out the CBI had investigated the chain "from printer to centre". "How the sealing happened... how GPS tracking happened... There is a seven-layer security system," he told the court.
READ | CBI Arrests 'Rocky', Alleged Mastermind In NEET-UG Paper Leak Case
The CBI has been tasked with investigating this case and has filed six cases and arrested nine people so far. Last week Rakesh Ranjan, alias Rocky, who is seen as one of the ringleaders, was arrested.
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