SC questions Xylem Learning for its liability on filing petition on discrepancies in the NEET UG
The Supreme Court has questioned Xylem Learning, a Kerala-based coaching center, for filing a petition under Article 32 alleging discrepancies in the NEET UG exam
Article 32 petitions are typically filed only when government actions violate an individual’s fundamental rights. Xylem Learning, which coaches students for competitive exams such as NEET through its app, claimed that this year’s National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) had large-scale irregularities, including a paper leak. The results of the exam, declared earlier this month, sparked protests among aspirants. A vacation bench of justices Manoj Mishra and SVN Bhatti questioned the coaching center’s claim, asking, “What fundamental right of yours is violated? You provide them coaching, and your duty is discharged, that is all.” Senior advocate R Basant, representing Xylem Learning, argued that some students did not receive the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets required to mark their answers. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, denied this claim, stating that OMR sheets were provided to all students. The court asked the NTA to verify if there was a timeline to raise grievances regarding the OMR sheets.
The NTA agreed to provide instructions, and the case is expected to be heard on July 8, alongside other NEET-related petitions. Basant mentioned that three students who took the NEET UG 2024 were also party to the petition and requested the court to combine their case with other pending petitions. The 2024 NEET exam has faced scrutiny due to alleged discrepancies in marking and claims of a paper leak. Notably, 67 students obtained a perfect score of 720, an unprecedented occurrence. Additionally, the NTA’s decision to award grace marks to 1,563 candidates who received incorrect question papers led to further controversy. This decision drew criticism, including calls for the resignation of the newly appointed education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The NTA later withdrew the grace marks, requiring those candidates to retake the test. Several petitions in the Supreme Court and high courts have called for the NEET exam to be scrapped, and some have requested a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. Earlier, Alakh Pandey, CEO of the online coaching platform Physicswallah, filed a plea regarding NEET issues, which was dismissed after the government addressed the concerns raised.
