NEET UG Paper Leak / The wait for the children is not over, the hearing in the Supreme Court has been postponed till next week

NEET UG Paper Leak: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the alleged paper leak case of medical entrance exam NEET-UG, filed its status report in the Supreme Court on Thursday. The CBI filed this report in a sealed cover. However, the hearing of the paper leak case in the Supreme Court on Thursday has been postponed till next week.

CJI DY Chandrachud said during today's hearing that the case will be heard on Monday next week. On this, the SG said that he is not here on Monday and Tuesday. Then the CJI said that okay, now the case will be heard on Thursday (July 18). Also, the court took the affidavit of the Center and NTA on record. The CJI has also directed the petitioners to file a reply.

Earlier, the National Examination Agency (NTA) has filed its affidavit in the Supreme Court. NTA said in the affidavit that strict security procedures are followed for making papers for competitive examinations. Papers are prepared in the presence of many subject experts. They are kept in sealed envelopes. Printing is done under CCTV surveillance. Papers are sent to the examination centers with tight security and GPS tracker and digital lock.

11 arrests so far in leak case

On the other hand, CBI arrested 2 more people including a candidate from Patna on Tuesday in the paper leak case. With this arrest, 11 people have been arrested in the case by the investigating agency so far. An official said that this is the first time that the agency has arrested a candidate in connection with the alleged irregularities related to the paper leak. CBI has arrested NEET-UG candidate Sunny from Nalanda and the father of another candidate Ranjit Kumar from Gaya.

The investigating agency informed that CBI has so far arrested 8 people from Bihar in the paper leak case, while one accused each was arrested in connection with the alleged rigging in Latur in Maharashtra and Godhra in Gujarat. While one accused was arrested in connection with the conspiracy in Dehradun.

6 FIRs have also been registered in the case so far

The CBI has already arrested the principal and vice-principal of Oasis School located in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand and the two people who allegedly provided safe premises to the students.

So far 6 FIRs have been registered by the CBI in the investigation case related to the paper leak. The FIR registered in Bihar is related to the paper leak. At the same time, the FIRs registered in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are related to giving exams in place of students and cheating.

Can order re-examination: SC

Meanwhile, during the hearing in the court, the Supreme Court had said on Monday that if the sanctity of the NEET-UG 2024 exam is violated and the entire process is affected, then the exam can be ordered to be conducted again. During the hearing, the court has sought information from the National Examination Agency (NTA) and the CBI about the time and method of paper leak as well as the number of wrongdoers. Through this, the court wants to find out the impact of this leak.

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra said in strong words to the Center and the National Examination Agency conducting the examination, "We should not remain in denial mode. This will further aggravate the problem." The next hearing on the petitions filed by the students and organizations will be held on July 11.