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The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking direction for setting aside the National Eligibility and Entrance Test-UG 2021 (NEET-2021) on the ground that it has been irreversibly vitiated by the use of unfair means and malpractices through electronic gadgets, devices, and facilitation through other illegal and unfair means.

A division bench of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice BR Gavai was first inclined to impose heavy cost on the Advocate while dismissing the petition, however, let off the counsel after a warning.

The petition has been filed by NEET-UG aspirants seeking re-examination and providing a fair and equal opportunity of being tested for the purposes of admission to medical colleges.

The plea has submitted that "the examination has been blemished and tainted with such fraudulent and unlawful acts that the same has to be set aside and canceled and conducted afresh where all students are given a fair and equal opportunity."

 "Even the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against owner of an institution in Nagpur, Maharashtra, where proxy candidates were being used for enabling actual students to qualify the entrance examination," the petition added.

However, the Court said that "we cannot entertain this kind of petition, it is a national-level examination."

In addition to this the Court first indicated that they will impose a Cost of Rs. 5 Lakh on the Advocate, however, after the request of the Counsel the same was removed.

Another similar petition has been filed seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2021 Entrance Examination over alleged leakage of the exam paper. The plea alleges that according to a First Information Report (FIR) dated by the Central Bureau of Investigation i.e. CBI, it is crystal clear that the "entrance examination paper was leaked under a criminal conspiracy wherein involvement of renowned coaching centers and paper solver gangs have been found." 

Case Title: Saloni Vs. National Testing Agency and Ors.