New Delhi, 20 June

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on petitions, including those seeking the scrapping of NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored probe into the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance test.

The apex court also stayed further proceedings on some pleas on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate)-2024 examination pending before different high courts in the country.

A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti issued notices to the parties seeking their responses on four separate pleas filed by the NTA seeking transfer of some pending petitions, including those concerning alleged paper leak, from the high courts to the apex court. As the bench issued notices on NTA's petitions, the counsel appearing for the agency urged that proceedings in these matters before the high court be stayed.

"Issue notice, returnable on July 8," the bench said, adding, "In the meantime, further proceedings before the high courts shall remain stayed". It also dealt with several other petitions, including the one filed by 20 students who had appeared in the medical entrance test and are seeking scrapping of the exam which was held on May 5.

They have also sought a direction to the NTA and others to conduct the test afresh. The bench, which issued notices to the Centre, NTA and others seeking their responses on these petitions, said the pleas would be heard on 8 July along with other pending matters concerning the NEET-UG 2024.

During the hearing, the bench made clear that it was not staying the counselling process. "All this has been argued from day one and they (some petitioners) have been wanting stay of counselling. We have denied that," the bench observed. "Ultimately, if all of you succeed, everything will go. The examination goes and the counselling will also go."

An advocate, appearing for one of the petitioners, said the counselling can be deferred until after 8 July. The bench asked the NTA's counsel about the counselling. "The counselling will start on July 6, but it will not finish on 6 July. It will take time," the NTA's counsel said.

Another counsel informed the bench that a person has been arrested in Bihar in connection with the probe into alleged irregularities in the exam. The lawyer said FIRs have been lodged in Bihar and Gujarat regarding the alleged irregularities and the police should be asked to give status report of their investigation in these matter.

During the hearing, the bench observed that petitioners in the matter were making similar arguments. The counsel appearing for the Centre said many a times, coaching institutes have also come as petitioners.