LexVANSHIKA YADAV versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
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[2024] 8 S.C.R. 45 : 2024 INSC 568 Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India & Ors. (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 335 of 2024) 02 August 2024 [Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI,* J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, JJ.] Issue for Consideration Whether the sanctity of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) (UG) was compromised in the year 2024 and whether the process should be scrapped and a fresh test should be convened. Headnotes† Education – Medical Education – MBBS Admission – Examination – Entrance Test – National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test (NEET) (UG) 2024 – Leakage of the question paper – Systemic deficiencies – Separation of tainted and untainted candidates: Held: It is settled law that the cancellation of an examination, either for the purposes of gaining admission into professional and other courses or for the purpose of recruitment to a government post, is justified only in cases where the sanctity of the exam is found to be compromised at a systemic level – Courts may direct the cancellation of an examination or approve such cancellation by the competent authority only if it is not possible to separate the tainted candidates from the untainted ones – In the instant case, that the question paper was leaked and some students indulged in malpractice is beyond cavil – No party before the Court including NTA disputes this – Certain centres found themselves in the midst of the controversy in this case – It was averred that malpractice was widespread in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, Patna, Bihar, and Godhra, Gujarat – From the figures provided by NTA, it becomes clear that there are no abnormalities in the results for 2024 when compared with the results for the past two years – The report of the Director of IIT, Madras also supports the conclusion of this Court – The report stated that there were no “abnormal indications” in the results for this year, when compared to previous * Author 46 [2024] 8 S.C.R. Digital Supreme Court Reports years – Hence, an analysis of the results does not lend support to the case of the petitioners who seek the cancellation of the exam – The leak of the paper does not appear to be widespread or systemic – It appears to be restricted to isolated incidents in some cities, which have been identified by the police or are in the process of being identified by the CBI – The material on record does not, at present, substantiate the allegation that there has been a widespread malpractice which compromised the integrity of the exam – To the contrary, an assessment of the data indicates that there are no deviations which indicate that systemic cheating has taken place – The information at this stage does not show that the question paper was disseminated widely using social media or the internet, or that the answers were being communicated to students using sophisticated electronic means which may prove difficult to trace – The students who were beneficiaries of the leak at Hazaribagh and Patna are capable of being identified – The CBI investigation reveals the number of students who are the beneficiaries of the malpractice at Hazaribagh and Patna at this stage – This leads to conclude that it is possible to separate the beneficiaries of malpractice or fraud from the honest students – This being the case, the Court cannot direct a re-exam. [Paras 61, 74, 77, 84] Education – Examination – National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) (UG) 2024 – Conduct of NTA, a cause of concern: Held: The paper was leaked in Patna and Hazaribagh – In one of the centres, the rear door of the strongroom was opened and unauthorised persons were permitted to access the question papers – This indicates that there is a serious lapse in security and that security measures which are stringent and effective must be implemented by NTA – Further, it came to light that the question papers were sometimes transported in e-rickshaws and that the services of private courier companies were availed – NTA did not specify a time by which the OMR sheets were required to be sealed after the conclusion of the exam – Another point of concern is that NTA relies on persons over whom it does not exercise direct oversight to be the invigilators for the exam – There are various methods which may be adopted to ensure appropriate oversight over invigilators and decrease the likelihood of the use of unfair means – In at least twelve centres, the question paper stored in Canara Bank wa
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