NEET-UG row: SC grants two weeks more time to expert panel for submission of report

New Delhi, Oct 21 : The Supreme Court on Monday granted two weeks additional time to the High-Level Committee of Experts constituted by the Centre in the wake of the NEET-UG examination controversy for submission of its report.

A bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra allowed the application for the extension of time after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the report of the expert panel is almost ready but requires a little more time for final submission.

On June 26, the Union Ministry of Education established a seven-member High-Level Committee of Experts - headed by Dr K. Radhakrishnan, former Chairman of ISRO and Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Kanpur - to recommend effective measures for the conduct of transparent, smooth and fair examinations by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The High-Level Committee of Experts was formed after the SC asked the Centre to detail the steps taken to ensure the sanctity of the NEET in the future.

Declining to order a re-test, the Supreme Court, in its detailed judgement pronounced on August 2, directed the expert panel to formulate a standard operating procedure (SOP) regarding the timeline for registration, change of exam centres, sealing of OMR sheets, and other processes related to the conduct of exams.

"The report of the committee shall be submitted to the Union Ministry of Education by September 30. 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 had ordered.

Further, the apex court deprecated the NTA’s decision to award compensatory marks to 1,563 students on account of loss of time, which was later recalled after several petitions were filed before the top court.

"We have said that NTA must now avoid flip-flops it made in this case as it does not serve the interests of students," the SC had observed. The Union government had assured the Supreme Court that its judgment would be implemented in true letter and spirit.