Deal with even 0.001 per cent negligence: SC issues notice to NTA on NEET row

The Supreme Court, on June 18 issued a notice and sought response from the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding pleas pertaining to the alleged paper leaks and malpractices in the NEET-UG 2024 exam. 

During the hearing, the bench said, "Even if there is 0.001 per cent negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with." 

The SC bench further noted, “Imagine a person who has played fraud on the system becomes a doctor, he is more deleterious to society.”

Pointing that aspirants have prepared for the entrance examination, and "we cannot forget their labour", the bench also told the Centre and the NTA not to consider the petitions filed against the NEET-UG as "adversarial litigation" and instead rectify the mistakes.

"As an agency which is conducting the examination, you must act fair. If there is a mistake, say yes, this is a mistake, and this is the action we are going to take. At least that inspires confidence in your performance," the bench told the NTA as per media reports. 

The Supreme Court said it expects "timely action" from the testing organisation and listed the next hearing in the matter on July 8.