Stating “We should not be in self-denial (NEET-UG 2024 was compromised by paper leak) as it only adds to the problem, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to make full disclosure about the nature of the leak, places where the leak took place and the lag of time between leak and conduct of the exam that took place on May 5, 2024, in which 23,33,287 candidates took the exam and 72,000 students did not.

The court asked the NTA to state when the leak first took place, the manner in which the leaked question papers were disseminated and the lag of time between the occurrence of the leak and the conduct of the examination exam on May 5, 2024.

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The court further directed the NTA to inform about the steps taken by it to identify beneficiaries of the leak, identify the centres/cities where the leak took place and the modalities followed to identify beneficiaries of the leak.

Besides seeking information from the NTA, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a status report on its investigation and the material that has come to light as of today.

The investigating agency, the court said, would also furnish information on the identified beneficiaries of the paper leak, identify the centres/cities where the leak took place and the modalities followed to identify beneficiaries of the leak.

The status report by the CBI will be filed by the investigating officer investigating six FIRs registered in Patna, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. “We are also of the view that CBI shall file a status report before this court on the status of the investigation as of today and material which has come to light till today,” the court said in its order.

Having directed the full disclosure of information from the NTA and the status report from the CBI, the bench deferred passing any order on the merits and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday – July 11, 2024.

“We are of the view that an order on merits would have to be deferred”, said CJI Chandrachud.

On the conclusion of the hearing which lasted for over an hour and a half, the top court in its order asked the Central government and the National Testing Agency to inform whether it would be feasible to use data analytics in a cyber forensics unit or any agency employed by the government to identify suspect cases, so that modality can be formed to segregate tainted from the untainted students.

The court further directed the Central government to set up a multi-disciplinary team of renowned experts to ensure due measures are taken to obviate any further breach in NEET papers.

Stating that the experts on the committee could be from outside the government, the court directed that the constitution of the committee shall be informed to it (court) and the court shall decide if the committee shall go ahead or need people from a diverse pool of domain expertise and data analytics.

On the plea by a number of petitioners seeking the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 in its entity and its reconduct, Chief Justice Chandrachud said the parameters for the grant of such a prayer are well settled and they include – whether the leak of the paper is traceable to systemic levels, whether the breach is of the nature and scale that fouls the integrity of the entire examination process and whether it is not possible to segregate tainted (the beneficiaries of the paper leak) from the untainted students who appeared for the NEET-UG 2024.

Having spelt out the parameters that would weigh in favour of retest, Chief Justice Chandrachud said that in a situation where a breach of sanctity affects the entirety of the exam and if segregation is not possible then retesting is needed. But if beneficiaries are identified then retest won’t be needed which involves students on such a wide spectrum.

In a series if posers, the bench sought information as to how question papers are framed, their printing, their transportation from NTA to the printing press, where they are kept after the printing or whether they are brought back to NTA, when they are sent to 4750 examination centres spread over 571 cities/ Union Territories and 14 centres located overseas.

The court also wanted to know at what time the question papers are taken out of the storage room of the State Bank of India and the Canara Bank in different cities and when they reach the examination centres.

All through the hearing, the court sounded guarded on the plea for the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 and its re-conduct, stating that it involved over 24 lakh students, time for preparation, their travelling to different centres and the expenses involved. The court also noted that most of the students came from middle-class backgrounds.

The bench also noted that in 2020 one student scored perfect 720 marks, three in 2021, one in 2022, two in 2023 and a whopping 67 in 2024, scored perfect 720 marks.

The NEET-UG is 180 questions with Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology having 45 questions each and every question having four marks. There is a negative marking and for every wrong answer, a student loses one mark.

Posting that matter for hearing on July 11, the court directed that the affidavit by the Central government, National Testing Agency and the Central Bureau of Investigation shall be placed on record by 05.00 pm on Wednesday – July 10, and also be given to the advocate appearing for the petitioners as well.

In the course of the hearing, a senior advocate appearing for a petitioner told the court that the paper leak took place on May 5, that too through an electronic device.