Truth always wins: Education Minister Pradhan after Supreme Court NEET verdict

New Delhi: The Supreme Court's observation on no systemic breach of sanctity in the 2024 NEET-UG exam has vindicated the government's stand, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday.

Hitting out at the opposition over its criticism of the national medical entrance exam amid allegations of irregularities, including question paper leak, the minister on X said, "The cloud of lies may hide the sun of truth for some time, but truth always wins" and added that findings and the verdict "outrightly rejects the propaganda that was being peddled".

The top court on Friday said it did not cancel the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024 examination amid concerns of paper leak because there was no systemic breach of its sanctity.

In its detailed reasons for the order which was pronounced on July 23, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the National Testing Agency (NTA) must stop its flip-flop which was noticed this year as it does not serve the interest of students.

In his post on X, Pradhan said, "Supreme Court's observation on no systemic breach of sanctity in NEET-UG exam and therefore, no re-exam vindicates the stand of the government. The government stands committed to 'tamper-free, transparent and zero-error examination system."

"For ensuring the same we shall implement recommendations of the high-level committee of experts, at the earliest once they are submitted. The findings and the verdict outrightly rejects the propaganda that was being peddled. We whole-heartedly thank Supreme Court for delivering justice and protecting the interests of lakhs of hardworking students. We shall implement court's judgement in letter and spirit," he said.

The Union education ministry on June 22 set up a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the NTA's functioning and recommend exam reforms.

On July 23, the top court dismissed the pleas seeking cancellation and re-test of the May 5 exam, holding that there was no evidence on record to conclude that it was "vitiated" on account of "systemic breach" of its sanctity. The court, while pronouncing the order, had said its detailed reasons would follow.

The interim verdict came as a shot in the arm for the embattled BJP-led NDA government and the NTA, which were facing strong criticism and protests, on streets and in Parliament, over alleged large-scale malpractices like question paper leak, fraud and impersonation in the prestigious test.

More than 23 lakh students gave the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) in 2024 for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses.