This means that there was a significant impact on the final merit list of successful NEET-UG aspirants, the Supreme Court was told.
Published Jul 22, 2024 | 8:11 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 23, 2024 | 12:50 PM
NEET. (Representational image)
The Supreme Court on Monday, 22 July asked the IIT-Delhi’s director to set up a team of three experts that would go into a particular question in the NEET-UG 2024 exam question paper and submit a report on the correct answer by noon of 23 July.
The top court took note of submissions from some aspirants that a question related to an “atom” and its characteristics had two correct answers and a set of examinees, who gave either the first or the second correct answer were both awarded four marks.
This, the petitioners contended before a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, would have a significant impact on the final merit list of successful candidates.
Further, what is concerning is that, due to the error, the ranks of hundreds of students changed. This means that, there is a inflation in the ranks of about 219 percent of the students because of the error in question.
“Atoms of ‘each’ element are stable and emit their characteristic spectrum” – this was one of the questions asked in the NEET examination, where the students had to answer it via reasoning.
In the periodic table, some elements are stable while others are not, with radioactive elements being notably unstable. Students familiar with elementary physics would know that not all elements are stable.
The NTA’s question was whether each element is stable, and students had to determine if this statement was true or false. Based on fundamental knowledge and past teachings, the correct answer is that this statement is false.
However, the answer key was released on 31 May, and students had 24 hours to challenge it. NTA received 13,373 challenges to the provisional answer key of the Physics question.
Due to the differences in the old and new editions of the NCERT textbook, the subject expert(s) held that two options be taken as correct in place of one option for this question.
Referring to the question, the bench said, “As indicated in the question framed, students had to select one option as their answer. In order to resolve the issue regarding the correct answer, we are of the considered view that an expert opinion should be sought from IIT Delhi.”
“We request the Director of IIT Delhi to constitute a team of three experts in the concerned subject. The expert team, constituted by the Director is requested to formulate the opinion on the correct option and remit the opinion to the Registrar by 12 noon tomorrow,” the bench said.
It asked the Registrar General of the apex court to communicate the order to the Director of IIT-Delhi. The bench will resume hearing on Tuesday the pleas related to the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam.
Earlier in the day, the bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, asked the petitioners, who are seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024, to show there was a “systemic failure” in conducting the examination.
It asked them to provide data to establish that the question paper leak was “widespread” and across the country. Observing that there was no material on record so far to show that the leak was widespread, the bench said there have been instances of some wrongdoing in Patna and Hazaribagh but they were not sufficient to indicate a systemic failure.
The top court also questioned the grant of grace marks and grace time to certain students at exam centres in Haryana’s Jhajjar.
“Now show us the data. At the end of it, even if we assume that problems happened, we are looking at the whole country. Show us the data to say that it was widespread,” the bench said.
It asked senior advocate Narinder Hooda, appearing for some aspirants, to establish with the help of data made available by the National Testing Agency (NTA) that the leak was beyond Hazaribagh and Patna.
“Show us as to how widespread is it. From CBI’s third report, we know where the printing press was located. We do not want to say the location here,” the CJI said.
The bench asked the NTA to give it a note on grant of grace marks and time to certain category of students in Jhajjar and other places where “wrong” question papers were distributed.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the NTA, dismissed the claims of a “systemic failure” and said it was wrong to suggest that the examination process was vitiated in the entire country.
“Giving some examples of some mistakes may not assist him (counsel for petitioners),” the law officer said.
The bench is hearing more than 40 pleas including those filed by the NTA seeking transfer of cases pending against it in various high courts over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination to the Supreme Court to avoid multiplicity of litigations.
More than 23.33 lakh students had taken the test on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 overseas.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
(Edited by Neena with inputs from Sumit Jha and PTI)\
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