The Supreme Court on Friday sought a detailed response from the Centre on whether it plans to shift the NEET-UG examination to a computer-based test (CBT), how it proposes to safeguard examination data, and the implementation of key recommendations made by an expert panel after the 2024 paper leak, stressing that temporary measures cannot substitute a permanent, institutionalised system to ensure the integrity of the examination process.
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Mehta informed the court that there had been developments since the earlier proceedings, referring to the continuing students’ protests over the NEET paper leak and a proposed new legislation.
“I have instructions to say that the government may go even beyond what the Committee recommended. I will present a holistic view if the court grants me time. With children, there cannot be an adversarial approach,” Mehta said.
Advocate Tanvi Dubey, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that they had also suggested measures to strengthen the examination system, including shifting to a computer-based mode.
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A bench of justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe observed that extraordinary arrangements such as deploying the Indian Air Force to transport question papers during this year’s re-NEET examination could only serve as short-term solutions.
“We cannot let such a situation go on like this. We have to focus on institutionalisation. Ad-hocism is what has troubled us for so many years,” the bench said.
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The observations came while hearing a batch of petitions filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), United Doctors Front (UDF) and others seeking the replacement of the National Testing Agency (NTA) with a statutory body that is accountable.
At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the issue was being monitored at the highest executive level and that the government was going “ten extra miles” to address concerns affecting students.
As the bench remarked that the government would have to go an extra mile to resolve the issues raised in the petitions, Mehta responded, “The government is going 10 extra miles as children’s problems have to be addressed.”
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The court referred to the NTA’s earlier affidavit detailing progress on the recommendations of the seven-member High Level Committee of Experts (HLCE), constituted by the Ministry of Education in 2024 under former ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan to examine the functioning of the NEET examination system and recommend reforms. The committee submitted its report in October 2024, proposing sweeping changes, including a transition to CBT.
Questioning the Centre on the proposed shift, the bench said, “This year you had deployed Indian Air Force to deliver the papers during the re-NEET examination. But that can only be ad-hoc. What about the transition to CBT? In that case, it will no longer be physical transportation of question papers. How will the data be protected? A leak can occur if the data is not safe. This is most crucial. We need to know what you think about CBT, the security aspect linked to it, and who is conducting it.”
Also read | Government ready to debate NEET paper leak in Parliament ‘the way Opposition wants’
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The bench posted the matter for hearing on August 3 and directed the Centre to file a comprehensive response explaining how it proposes to implement the Radhakrishnan committee’s recommendations relating to transparency, security, monitoring, vigilance, human resources, finance, legal aspects, and the printing and transportation of question papers.
The Centre assured the court that it would accept any constructive suggestions without reservation.
Responding to the assurance, the bench said, “We will see to it that the recommendations divided into three parts – pre examination, during the examination and post-examination are completely institutionalised.”
Earlier, while issuing notice on the petitions in May, the Supreme Court had expressed concern that despite the 2024 NEET-UG paper leak and the safeguards subsequently directed by the court, sufficient lessons had not been learnt.
The petitions referred to the Supreme Court’s August 2024 order, which noted that the Ministry of Education had constituted the seven-member expert committee in June 2024 to thoroughly examine the NEET examination process and recommend a standard operating procedure to plug systemic loopholes and prevent future paper leaks.
To implement those recommendations, the Centre constituted a high-powered Steering Committee on November 14, 2024, and enacted the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 to deter malpractice in public examinations.
The petitions have also sought further reforms, including mandatory digital locking of question papers to eliminate physical handling and transportation, and, in the long term, the creation of an independent National Examination Integrity Commission (NEIC) comprising domain experts to ensure a foolproof examination system.
