Solicitor General Tushar Mehta apprised the Delhi High Court on Wednesday (August 19) that the OMR sheets of candidates who appeared for the NEET UG re-test
were not tampered with. The latest remarks came as the HC heard a PIL by two candidates seeking additional marks in compensation for alleged irregularities. As reported by PTI, Mehta contended that "loose kind of drafting and arguments" alleging "large-scale tampering" in the re-test ought not be permitted as they would set a "narrative". "There is no tampering in any OMR sheet. None of this has happened. Don't sensationalise," he told the bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia. The bench was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by two NEET UG candidates seeking extra marks for themselves and “similarly affected candidates” for some dropped questions, and dismantling of the National Testing Agency (NTA). One of the petitioners claimed that her OMR sheet had been meddled with. The PIL urged the establishment of an expert panel to review issues regarding exam-related irregularities. Mehta stated that the petitioner’s case seemed to be an inconsistency between her rough work on the question paper and responses selected on the OMR sheet, contending there was no “manipulation.” "They say there is tampering with the OMR sheet. Who will tamper?" Mehta questioned. The petitioners’ counsel argued that the issues mentioned in the plea about non-award of marks for dropped questions and tampering with OMR sheets affected thousands; however, only two of them moved the court, as others were not granted permission by their parents.
HC Declines to Entertain PIL, Allows Aggrieved to Move Court in Individual Capacity
Noting that the relief sought in the plea could not be granted, the Delhi HC declined to entertain the PIL.
The court remarked that it would hear the issues if the wronged student moves the court in “individual capacity, and not in a PIL.”
"What we find is that it is a mixed bunch of prayers seeking relief for the petitioner and all other candidates. Writ petition with such a mixture of prayers can't be entertained," the court concluded.
The petition was dismissed by the court as withdrawn, allowing one petitioner to file a separate PIL on institutional reforms in exams like NEET.
(With Inputs from PTI)
