NEET-UG exam case: Viral videos showing leaked paper fake, says NTA in affidavit to SC

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency on Wednesday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying that the Telegram videos allegedly showing photos of leaked paper are fake and manipulated.

In the affidavit, NTA said that it carried out an analysis of the distribution of marks of candidates in NEET-UG 2024 at the National, State and City level and also the Centre level. This analysis indicates that the distribution of marks is quite normal and there seems to be no extraneous factor, which would influence the distribution of marks.

"This analysis indicates that the distribution of marks is quite normal and there seems to be no extraneous factor, which would influence the distribution of marks," the NTA said in its affidavit, which also gave details about the system in place for ensuring confidential printing of question papers, its transportation and distribution.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud is scheduled to hear on Thursday a batch of pleas related to the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct it afresh.

While hearing the matter on July 8, the apex court had observed that sanctity of NEET-UG 2024 has been "breached".

Meanwhile, The central government also filed an affidavit in the apex court saying that there was no "mass malpractice" in the 2024 NEET-UG exam.

According to the Centre, data analytics conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras indicates no evidence of widespread misconduct or any specific group of candidates unfairly benefiting, which could result in unusual scores.

The NEET-UG 2024 was taken up on May 5 by 23.33 lakh students at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including in 14 cities overseas.

The Centre and the NTA, in their earlier affidavits filed in the apex court, had said that scrapping the exam would be "counterproductive" and "seriously jeopardise" lakhs of honest candidates in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.