There A Time Limit For Filing Complaints Regarding OMR Sheets Under NEET-UG 2024? Supreme Court Requests NTA

Today, June 27, the Supreme Court has requested the response from NTA regarding the deadline for bringing up the grievance against the OMR sheets, in response to a petition filed by Xylem Learning Private Limited regarding NEET-UG 2024. Among other things, the petition expressed issues over the distribution of OMR sheets to exam-takers.

A Vacation Bench consisting of Justices Manoj Misra and S.V.N. Bhatti declared at the beginning of the proceedings that a coaching center had filed the current writ suit.

“This is one of a coaching center’s 32 petitions. Justice Misra enquired, “What fundamental right of yours is violated?”

Justice Bhatti added, “This is one of the reasons where we see this role played by the coaching centers, bagpipers.” to this statement. They rarely play a part at all. Their responsibility and obligation are fulfilled once they have completed their service, in which case everything is resolved. They haven’t promised to make sure they will handle all the Center is meant to handle.

In response, Senior Advocate R Basant stated that pupils who were meant to receive the OMR sheets were also among the petitioners.

In response to the petitioner’s request for interim relief, he stated that it was necessary to collect the OMR sheets because some students had not yet received them. In response, the NTA counsel stated that the candidates had already received and uploaded the OMR sheets.

The Court then asked whether there was a deadline for filing the grievance in relation to the OMR sheets. “Normally in such matters if OMR sheets are uploaded and if there is any grievance, then there is a time limit.” The counsel for the NTA promised to look into it. But Basant quickly pointed out that there isn’t a set process for voicing a complaint.

In the end, the Court published the notice and marked it as pending with related applications.

The NEET-UG Examination 2024, administered by NTA on May 5 of this year, is located beneath the scanner. Numerous petitions against this medical entrance exam were filed in high courts and before the Supreme Court.

The petitioners have requested that the court get involved in investigating the purported paper leak, the awarding of grace marks in lieu of time lost, and any anomalies or inconsistencies that transpired during the administration of the NEET-UG Examination.

The counseling and seat assignment procedure was originally set to start on July 6; however, the Court had already declined to postpone it. In addition, the Court had stated in an oral observation that the admissions would depend on how the petitions were resolved in the end and that the counseling would also be rendered invalid if the tests were declared invalid.

Imperatively, the court also voiced its concerns regarding the purported inconsistency in the exam’s conduct, saying aloud that even “0.001% negligence” in the way the NEET-UG 2024 exams were administered should be taken very seriously in light of the tremendous amount of work candidates put in to pass the esteemed test.

In a related event, the Central Government gave the CBI investigative authority into the NEET (UG) Examination 2024 anomalies on June 22.

Regarding the NEET UG exam that was held on May 5, the Ministry of Education said in an official press statement that “certain cases of alleged irregularities/cheating/impersonation have been reported”.

In addition, a retest was given to 1563 students who received grace marks on June 23. But according to the reports, just 813 people—or around 52%—took the test, with others choosing not to participate.