Supreme Court to Hear NEET PG 2024 Case on Sept 20 Amid Controversy Over Exam Transparency

The Supreme Court, on September 13, heard the petition filed by a group of NEET PG candidates, who raised concerns about irregularities in the exam process, including allegations of a paper leak

The NEET PG 2024 exam, a critical gateway for medical aspirants seeking admissions into postgraduate courses, has been overshadowed by significant delays and controversies. The situation has escalated to the Supreme Court of India, with 19 petitioners challenging the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) over transparency issues and exam result release.

The Supreme Court, on September 13, heard the petition filed by a group of NEET PG candidates, who raised concerns about irregularities in the exam process, including allegations of a paper leak and discrepancies in the normalisation of scores. The petitioners demand the release of the exam's answer keys and greater clarity on the normalisation rule used to determine results.

Senior Advocate Vibha Makhija, representing the petitioners, stressed that the NBE has not released either the question papers or the answer keys, making it difficult for candidates to assess their performance transparently. The scorecards released by NBE allegedly did not tally accurately for many candidates.

The Supreme Court issued a notice to NBEMS, signifying the seriousness of the concerns raised. The court's next hearing on the case is scheduled for September 20, 2024, potentially addressing the issues raised by the petitioners and expediting the release of results and answer keys.

The NEET-PG 2024 exam was conducted on August 11, with results declared on August 23, and the counselling commencing on September 20. However, the delay in the counselling schedule has added to the uncertainty and confusion among candidates. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has yet to officially announce the schedule for Round 1 of counselling.

In response to ongoing issues, the MCC has introduced a facility for candidates to change their nationality status from Indian to Non-Resident Indian (NRI) until September 17. Additionally, candidates requiring PwD certificates for Round 1 of NEET PG Counselling 2024 can obtain them from designated disability centres between September 9 and September 25, 2024.

The bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, is set to consider the matter further in the upcoming hearing. The outcome of this case is crucial for candidates seeking clarity and fairness in the NEET PG 2024 examination process.