The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking to have the National Eligibility and Entrance Test, undergraduate (NEET-UG) held on September 12, 2021, canceled because it was not administered fairly and transparently. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition, stating that the exam’s cancellation could not be justified at the cost of thousands of students.

The petitioner seeks to set aside the NEET-UG Exam and direct the National Testing Agency to hold the exam anew, according to a court led by Justice L Nageswara Rao, which stopped short of imposing a Rs 5 lakh cost. The supreme court noted that the CBI had filed three FIRs in which it claimed that the candidates had been impersonated.

Justice B R Gavai said, “What are the types of writs that can be filed under Article 32? These tests have been taken by tens of thousands of people? Don’t you say to folks who come to you (advocate) that these will be dismissed at a cost? Do you want to reschedule the complete exam now? You debate, we’ll talk about it for a long time, and we’ll pay special attention to you ” The petitioner’s lawyer, Ninad Dogra, claimed that the CBI had filed three FIRs and that examination materials had been leaked over WhatsApp.

The Supreme Court was hearing a case filed by Saloni, a 20-year-old petitioner, who requested that the NEET UG exam, which was held on September 12, 2021, be canceled due to alleged malpractices and that the exam be re-conducted.