The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition that sought directions to the Union government to formulate permanent guidelines ensuring the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is conducted in a fair and transparent manner.
Court's Reasoning
When the plea came up for hearing, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan observed that the issue was already pending before the Supreme Court. In 2024, the apex court had directed the formulation of guidelines related to NEET. Additionally, the Supreme Court recently admitted a plea concerning the NEET question paper leak and sought responses from the Union government and the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The bench stated that since the matter was sub judice in the Supreme Court, it could not entertain the petition and consequently dismissed it.
Petitioner's Concerns
The petitioner, R Venkateswaran, highlighted that the NEET examination conducted on May 3 was cancelled due to allegations of a question paper leak. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21. To prevent such incidents in the future, the petitioner sought a court directive for the Union government to frame guidelines ensuring the conduct of NEET in a fair and transparent manner.
The court, however, declined to intervene, noting that the Supreme Court was already addressing the issue.
