NEET (UG) 2024 Exam| Calcutta High Court Seeks NTA's Response On Alleged Irregularities

The petitioner raised concerns regarding the scoring system, arguing that it would be improbable for candidates to achieve scores of 718 or 719 as per the established marking criteria.

The Division Bench of Justice Kausik Chanda and Justice Apurba Singh Ray directed the NTA to submit a comprehensive affidavit within ten days, addressing the allegations made in the petition. The Court said, “the respondent no.1 shall file an affidavit within a period of ten days from date in response to the allegations made in this writ petition. The affidavit should also disclose how the reservation policy of the State as well as the Central Government has been followed in preparing the merit list.”

Petitioner Tanmoy Chattopadhyay appeared in person while Deputy Solicitor General of India, Dhiraj Kumar Trivedi appeared for the Respondents.

The Court noted, “It appears that the National Testing Agency sought to justify awarding of such marks based on a judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No.600 of 2018 (Akshat Aggarwal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.).”

The Court emphasized the necessity of the NTA's response to justify the awarding of marks and to clarify how the reservation policies of both the State and Central Governments were adhered to in compiling the merit list for the examination. The Court said, “Justification of such an exercise cannot be decided without an affidavit from the National Testing Agency/ respondent no.1.”

Furthermore, the Court scheduled the next hearing before a regular bench in two weeks' time, instructing the NTA to maintain all records related to the NEET (UG) 2024 Examination until further orders are issued.

The Court clarified that the outcome of the counseling process would be contingent upon the resolution of the writ petition.

Cause Title: Tanmoy Chattopadhyay v. National Testing Agency & Ors.

Appearance:

Respondents: Deputy Solicitor General of India, Dhiraj Kumar Trivedi, Advocates Tirtha Pati Acharyya, Sunit Kumar Roy