New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Monday granted an additional two weeks to the High-Level Committee of Experts, formed by the Centre following the NEET-UG exam controversy, to submit its report.
The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and including Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, approved the extension after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that while the report is nearly complete, some additional time is required for its finalization.
The Union Ministry of Education had established the seven-member committee on June 26, with Dr.K. Radhakrishnan, former ISRO Chairman and current Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT Kanpur, to propose recommendations for ensuring transparent, smooth, and fair exams conducted 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.
