"Verdict rejects propaganda being peddled": Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on SC ruling on NEET-UG '24

New Delhi [India], August 2 (ANI): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan thanked the Supreme Court for refusing to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (UG) held on May 5 this year holding that there was no systemic breach in the exam.
In a post on X, Pradhan said that the findings and the verdict "outrightly reject the propaganda that was being peddled." He further saidthat the apex court's observation of no systemic breach of sanctity in the NEET-UG exam and therefore no re-exam vindicates the stand of the government.
"The govt. stands committed to a "Tamper-free, Transparent & Zero-error examination system." To ensure the same we shall implement the recommendations of the high-level committee of experts, at the earliest once they are submitted," the Minister said.
"We wholeheartedly thank the Supreme Court for delivering justice and protecting the interests of lakhs of hardworking students. We shall implement the Supreme Court's judgement in letter and spirit," he added.
Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram however disagreed with the Apex Court's order saying that it would be unfair to base results on the NEET Test.
" I like to respectfully differ with the Supreme Court because the integrity of this test is completely gone. To base the admissions, on the results of this test, in my opinion, will be very unfair to the students because we are hearing great anomalies," Karthi Chidambaram said.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the system in which the examinations are being conducted needs a rethink.
"There have been several areas that complaints have come from. There have been some strange cases, like a topper in Gujarat who could not even pass her school examinations, but somehow topped in the NEET. There is something very strange about the situation, it needs to be addressed. There is a new complication with the NEET PG because a majority of the students from my state of Kerala have been given centres not in Kerala but in Andhra and Telangana. How can this country conduct examinations so badly? I have just seen Minister JP Nadda along with a delegation of Kerala MPs. The matter is very serious. The entire way in which this whole NEET system is being conducted, whether it's NEET PG, they need to rethink it and find a better, more efficient way because our young people's aspirations, hopes and prayers are being put at risk in this," Tharoor said.
On July 23, the Supreme Court refused to cancel the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Under Graduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination held on May 5, holding that there was no systemic breach in the exam.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said that at the present stage, there is an absence of material on record to lead to the conclusion that the result of the exam is vitiated or that there is any systematic breach.
It said the data on record is not indicative of a systemic leak of the NEET-UG question paper, which would indicate a disruption of the sanctity of the exam. However, it acknowledged the fact that the leak of the NEET-UG paper took place at Hazaribagh and Patna and said that it is "not in dispute".
The order of the apex court came on a batch of pleas seeking direction to recall NEET-UG 2024 results and to conduct the examination afresh, alleging paper leakage and malpractices in the test held. Aspirants had approached the top court and raised the issue of leakage of the question paper, awarding compensatory marks and anomalies in the NEET-UG. The NEET-UG, 2024 was held across 4,750 centres on May 5 and around 24 lakh candidates appeared in it. (ANI)