The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in an ongoing Uttarakhand Police investigation into the alleged leaking of question papers in the second phase of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Examination (NEET) for undergraduate medical and dental courses held on July 24.
A Bench of Justices Anil R. Dave and L. Nageswara Rao heard the submissions made by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which conducted the exam, that the materials recovered did not match the questions set in the test papers.
The Bench observed that an apex court-appointed oversight committee led by former Chief Justice of India Justice R.M. Lodha had also cleared any apprehensions of foul play.
It rejected a plea made by Anshul Sharma, represented by senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, to call for a status report from the police.
“This court is not meant to monitor the investigation. If the police come across other material, they will take appropriate action. The Senior Superintendent of Police [of Haldwani district] is looking into it. The CBSE is also interested in maintaining its reputation,” the Bench said.
The Haldwani Police had arrested five persons in connection with the paper leak case on July 23, a day before NEET. Around 4,500 candidates had appeared for the exam in Haldwani.
Mr. Hegde submitted that the questions were circulated prior to the exams on WhatsApp to many students from Bihar, Azamgarh, Lucknow, Assam and Chhattisgarh. He pointed at a larger conspiracy behind the leak.
