NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on July 27 two petitions alleging excessive police action against students who participated in protests over the alleged NEET paper leak at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and other parts of the country.The matter was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. Senior advocates Shyam Divan and Gopal Sankaranarayanan requested an early hearing, informing the court that the petitions had been filed and numbered by the Supreme Court registry.The protests were held in several states following allegations of irregularities in the NEET examination. In Delhi, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led march on July 20 witnessed clashes between protesters and security personnel, who used lathis and tear gas to disperse crowds attempting to march towards Parliament. The protesters were demanding the resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged paper leak.Separately, while hearing a batch of petitions related to the NEET paper leak, another Supreme Court bench said it would closely monitor the Centre’s efforts to prevent future examination leaks and stressed the need for long-term reforms.A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe asked the Centre to explain the steps taken to improve transparency, implement the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee, and adopt the proposed IIT model for conducting examinations.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the court that the government would file a detailed report outlining measures that go beyond the committee’s recommendations.“Students’ futures can’t be jeopardised. We are going beyond the Radhakrishnan Committee. I assure you that the government is walking 10 extra miles. I can assure you everything is being supervised at the highest level,” Mehta said.The bench observed that while the Air Force had been used to transport question papers for the NEET-UG re-test, such measures were temporary.“Ad hocism has troubled us for years,” Justice Narasimha observed, adding that the court would ensure the examination process is institutionalised.During the hearing, advocate Tanvi Dubey, appearing for the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), sought a detailed standard operating procedure for the computer-based testing model that the National Testing Agency plans to implement for NEET-UG from next year.(with inputs from agency)
