Hearing the NEET paper leak issues, the SC has Ordered the Centre to put an end to the series of errors surrounding the NEET-UG examination and sought details on its plans of shifting the examination to a CBT mode.
Hearing the NEET paper leak issues, a bench of justices P. S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe told the Centre that they would be monitoring the issue very closely and would follow it up regularly. During the hearing, it questioned the center on its process of shifting the examination to an online mode. It also sought information on how it will protect the data when the examination is shifted to a computer-based testing.
In response to these questions, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who is representing the Centre, said that the government is going ten extra miles to address the issues for children. He also sought some more time to place before the court a holistic view. The matter is listed for the next hearing on August 3.
Meanwhile in the cabinet, sources have revealed that a meeting is slated for Friday afternoon, which is likely to approve the proposed amendments to tighten the existing laws against paper leaks and cheating.It reiterated that fast-track courts would be mandated to dispose of a matter and announce punishment within three months.
Earlier, on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had posted on his social media handle that he has directed the setting up of fast-track courts for paper leak cases.The source further revealed that amendments are also likely to increase both the jail term and monetary penalties for those involved in paper leaks.
Currently, individuals involved in such cases face imprisonment of three to five years and a fine of rupees ten lakh if convicted. Besides, service providers who do not report a possible offence can be fined up to Rs 1 crore under the current law, and in cases of organised crime, the punishment varies from five to 10 years, with a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore.