IndiaNEET, which stands for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, is a mandatory test a student must attempt if they wish to pursue
Here’s a list of all major events so far.
Less than a month after the exam was conducted on May 5, 2024, the NTA declared the NEET-UG 2024 exam results on its official website. Right from the get-go, things appeared suspicious, considering how the results were announced ten days earlier than their normal date. Many also pointed out how the NTA’s results coincided with the outcome of the 2024 Indian general election, calling it a ploy to distract from the
Further, many centres had faced several exam disruptions, which could have placed certain students at a disadvantage. As a result, the NTA announced that an appropriate “normalisation” formula would be applied to compensate for these interruptions.
As per test results, 67 candidates had topped the NEET with a perfect 720 score — something that was unprecedented in NEET-UG history. For context, only two students acquired the All India Rank 1 in 2023, with the highest being 3 toppers in 2021. Further probing revealed that six of these 2024 first-rankers were from a single centre in Haryana, making for some highly unlikely coincidences.
In addition, some students had scored 718 and 719 marks, which was pointed out to be mathematically impossible as per NEET’s grading systems. These outcomes, combined with allegations of leaked
Later on, the NTA clarified that the process of normalisation, alongside easier physics and chemistry sections, might have led to some students acquiring these “impossible” mark sheets. However, many were not satisfied with these explanations and questioned how some students had a much higher rank than their peers with the exact same marks.
Further, the NTA admitted there was an “incorrect distribution of papers” at the Haryana centre with six toppers. This led to lost time and thus the normalisation of marks was applied here too. Unsatisfied, many experts demanded a probe into the mechanism behind the grace marks.
As per The News Minute, 13,000 students flagged a particular question on the paper since it had two correct answers mentioned. Considering that NEET deducts marks for incorrect answers, many resorted to avoiding that question, losing out on crucial marks in the process. Many candidates have demanded that the NTA omit the question in the process of evaluation.
In addition, many of the toppers attempted this erroneous question, which many found fishy.
The NTA was subsequently taken to the Calcutta and Delhi High Courts, where questions were raised on the vast number of toppers this year, in addition to the legitimacy of the grace marks awarded.
While the NTA refused to conduct a re-exam for all 25 lakh students who wrote the NEET, committees were formed to investigate the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates, and why certain centres had unusual time lapses during the examination process.
Calling the grace marks “arbitrary”, a petition was officially filed in the Supreme Court to challenge the NTA’s decision on the compensatory marks. Amidst falling trust in the examination system, the Supreme Court ordered a re-test for the 1,563 students who were given these grace marks at the initial NEET exam. This was to take place on June 23, with the declaration of results within a week.
The NEET tells the Supreme Court that it has cancelled all grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates, leading the number of top rankers to drop to 61. The outcome of the retest will determine whether these students will retain their top rank.
Despite many claims of malpractice, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan denies any allegations of corruption. A few days later, however, Pradhan acknowledged there were irregularities at two exam centres.
Hours before the initial NEET-UG exam in May, Patna police received an anonymous tip-off leading them to find four suspected criminals. These individuals led the police to a meeting place where around 30 candidates had allegedly gathered to memorise leaked questions and answers.
A top source from Bihar’s Economic Offenses Unit (EOU) — to whom the investigation was later handed over to — explained that such a practice might be happening nationwide. These papers were found burnt at an individual’s flat, who later confessed to the crime.
"Photocopies of the question papers were given to the candidates and they were told to memorise the answers. The duplicate question papers were collected later in the morning and burnt," explained a source to The Times of India.
The EOU later found evidence that there might be several gangs involved in the
In a confession statement, the prime accused admitted that they demanded between Rs 30-32 lakhs from each student, with the intermediate charging around Rs 40 lakh from each aspirant. The EOU makes many dozens more arrests. There are also speculations that these gangs provided proxy candidates to take the tests for the students.
The Patna police then arrested five Nalanda residents, including key architect Baldev Kumar, who is also associated with the notorious Sanjeev Kumar, alias Lutan Mukhiya gang. These suspects, accused of multiple interstate paper leaks, allegedly received the NEET-UG solved answer sheets in PDF format a day before the exam. The Mukhiya gang procured the papers from a private school in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, as per the police report.
"The gang had been plotting this for several months and it was a professor from Hazaribagh who had sent the question papers to Sanjeev using WhatsApp. Later, with the help of medical students from Patna and Ranchi, the paper was solved," explained a top official to ToI.
Photocopied versions of the paper were given to around 30 candidates staying at a “safe house” in Patna. The other members of the Mukhiya gang have since confessed to providing duplicate SIM cards, mobile phones and accommodation for the gang members involved in the leak.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, and also the leader of the opposition in Bihar, has now claimed that Mukhiya’s political links are preventing the arrest of Sanjeev Kumar.
"The investigative agencies are not arresting Mukhiya because of his political connections. I will expose his pictures with politicians in the time to come," he told reporters. The RJD has also released a photo of Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary with Amit Anand.
In response, another Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha noted that Tejashwi had prior knowledge of the accused.
As per The Print, the leaks might have been due to oversight from courier company Blue Dart and the State Bank of India. A preliminary probe suggested that both organisations failed to comply with norms during the transport of the question papers.
According to a report by The Print, dozens of students allegedly paid between 10 lakh and two crores to a coaching institute in Godhra, Gujarat, to receive help from their teachers during the exam. As per the report, the coaching institute, which was in cohorts with the exam centre, would fill in the OMR sheets for the students after the test ended.
Suspecting involvement in the NEET paper leaks, the Nanded Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) detained two teachers, Sanjay Tukaram Jadhav and Jalil Umar Khan Pathan, as per a Moneycontrol report. In addition to teaching, both individuals run private coaching institutes in Latur.
As per reports, the FIR also mentions Delhi-based Gangadhar and Iranna Kongalwar. These new suspects may have helped Jadhav and Pathan contact aspirants ready to pay for the leaked paper.
After all this controversy, the NEET 2024 re-test was finally conducted for 1563 candidates across four states on June 23. However, only half of these students managed to appear for the exam.
The six students who topped with full marks from the aforementioned Haryana centre noted that it is unlikely that they will repeat their perfect performance, considering how the retest was more challenging than the previous iteration.
The government introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024 in February. It aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations. Under the new law, offenders can see a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to RS 1 crore.
Following the uproar, the Chief of the NTA, Subodh Kumar Singh, was removed from his post and placed on “compulsory wait” in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Further, a high-level committee of experts under former ISRO and IIT Kanpur chairman Dr K Radhakrishan has been appointed to ensure smooth, transparent and fair examinations.