New Delhi, August 2:    The Supreme Court criticized the National Testing Agency (NTA) for inconsistent decisions regarding the NEET-UG 2024 exam, calling these “flip flops” that harmed students’ interests.

In its detailed judgment explaining the July 23 decision not to cancel the exam despite allegations of paper leaks and malpractices, the Court highlighted several lapses by the NTA. These included allowing candidates to change exam centers and opening a “rear door” for new registrations. The Court also criticized the NTA’s decision to award grace marks to students who received incorrect question papers, only to later retract this and require them to retake the test.

Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud pointed out that the NTA initially granted grace marks for a question with ambiguous wording, which an expert panel later clarified had only one correct answer. This led to 44 students scoring a perfect 720 marks, prompting the Court to instruct the NTA to revise the results.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued guidelines to an expert committee established by the Union Government to enhance exam security measures, develop SOPs, improve exam center allocation, and implement comprehensive CCTV monitoring. The committee is to submit its report by September 30, with the Ministry of Education reporting on implementation within a month.

This judgment responded to petitions seeking the exam’s cancellation due to paper leaks. The Court found the leak localized and not affecting the exam’s overall integrity but acknowledged the need for process improvements.