The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on a plea seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 counselling cum seat allotment process which is likely to commence from July 6.

However, a vacation bench presided over by Justice Vikram Nath turned down the request to defer the commencement of the counselling for two days, i.e., till July 8, when the apex court is scheduled to hear the batch of pleas, including the petitions seeking cancellation of NEET-UG exam.

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The Bench, also comprising S.V.N. Bhatti, observed that the first phase of counselling will extend for a week and halting the seat allotment process may result in irreparable loss of time.

After hearing the submission, the apex court ordered, “Issue notice. Tag (with the pending batch of petitions). In the meantime, learned counsel appearing for respondents NTA and Union of India may file their response within two weeks. The other respondents may also file their response on or before the next date fixed.”

The matter will be taken up for hearing on July 8.

In the past, the Supreme Court has reiterated that it would not pass any interim direction to stay the admission counselling process to medical programmes pursuant to the NEET examination amid the allegations of paper leaks and other irregularities.

The plea filed through advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava referred to the 2015 judgment where the apex court had cancelled the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) on the ground of mass cheating and multiple irregularities and had directed CBSE to conduct a re-test within four weeks.

It said, “The petitioners are seeking similar kind indulgence of this Hon’ble Court in the instant case too as the allegations levelled on the similar NEET-UG 2024 are much graver and more serious as compared to the AIPMT-2015.”

Further, the plea added that it would be in the interest of justice, equity and fairness and also in the interest of the future of about 24 lakh young students, to cancel the NEET-UG exam forthwith, stay counselling cum seat allotment process which is likely to commence from July 6 and re-conduct it.

The writ petition filed before the apex court said that the NEET-UG 2024 examination deserves to be cancelled in view of the statements recorded by the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, wherein, the accused persons categorically stated that the question paper was leaked and was provided to few candidates a day before the actual examination date and the leaked question paper was identical to the NEET-UG 2024 question paper actually provided to them.