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The Supreme Court on Friday expanded the remit of the Centre-appointed seven-member expert panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation chief K Radhakrishnan constituted to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency and recommend exam reforms.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra gave the detailed reasons for their July 23 order of not scrapping the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 24 examination.
The bench was also critical of the conduct of the NTA which holds the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.
It flagged multiple lapses on the part of NTA like the security breach at an examination centre in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh where the rear door of the strongroom was opened and unauthorised people were permitted to access the question papers, transportation of question papers by e-rickshaws and distribution of wrong set of question papers among the candidates.
Besides Radhakrishnan, other members of the expert committee are: Randeep Guleria, B J Rao, Ramamurthy K, Pankaj Bansal, Aditya Mittal and Govind Jaiswal.
The bench said the remit of the committee, in addition to the tasks that it has been entrusted with by the union government and the NTA, shall encompass examination security and administration, data security and technological enhancements.
Its responsibilities will also include policy and stakeholder engagement, collaboration and international cooperation, and recommendations for providing mental health support to students and training of NTA staff.
Elaborating on examination security and administration, the bench said the panel would evaluate and recommend reforms in the mechanism of administration of the exam, which includes ensuring rigorous checks and balances at every stage, from setting the question papers to declaring the final results.
"Recommend stricter procedures for verifying candidate identities, if required, with a view to preventing impersonation and ensuring that only registered and authorised candidates are allowed to take the exams.
"Such processes may include, but are not limited to, enhanced identity checks at various stages of the exam (such as registration, entry to the exam centre, and before the commencement of the exam), and technological innovations to prevent impersonation. All procedures should comply with laws on privacy," the bench said.
It added that the panel would also consider the viability of comprehensive CCTV surveillance systems at all examination centres, including real-time monitoring and recording of all activities.
"The aim is to deter and detect any malpractice or unauthorized activities and to provide evidence in case of incidents," the bench said as it expanded the scope of terms and reference of the panel.
"Stringent action in accordance with law shall be taken against every candidate who is detected or who may hereafter be detected to have been the beneficiary of any malpractice," the bench said.
It noted that the Ministry of Education constituted the expert committee by a notification dated June 22, 2024, which stated that its report shall be submitted within two months from the date of the issue of the notification.
"This would be August 22, 2024. However, in view of the expanded remit of the committee in terms of this judgement, additional time may be required for a holistic report on various aspects related to the conduct of the NEET. Therefore, the report of the committee shall be submitted to the ministry of education by September 30, 2024," the bench said.
It said the Ministry of Education shall take a decision on the recommendations made by the committee within a period of one month from receiving the report.
"It shall prepare and begin to implement a plan of action on this basis. The ministry of education shall report compliance with these directions within two weeks of taking the decision on the implementation of the recommendations," the bench said and ordered listing of the matter before an appropriate bench for verification of the compliance.
The top court said if any student, including in the present batch, has an individual grievance not bearing on the issues which have been resolved by the present judgement, it would be open to them to pursue their rights and remedies in accordance with law, including by moving the jurisdictional high courts.
"However, before moving the high court for the grant of relief, the petitioners would have to seek the withdrawal of their petitions before this court, if any have been filed," the bench added.
Over 23 lakh students took the NEET-UG in 2024 held on May 5 for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses.