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The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed reluctance to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a standard questionnaire and a special investigation procedure to ensure time-bound investigations into question paper leak cases.

A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe orally observed, "It's not a matter for us [to consider]," indicating that it was already dealing with petitions raising structural concerns over the National Testing Agency's (NTA) conduct of the NEET examination.

Following submissions by Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for petitioner and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, the bench agreed to defer the matter by a week, after hearing the pending NEET-related petitions.

Plea Cites Repeated Failures In Tackling Paper Leaks

Upadhyay filed the PIL in the wake of the recent NEET paper leak controversy, arguing that repeated failures by authorities to prevent, investigate and prosecute those responsible had undermined the rights of lakhs of students.

The petition contended that these failures violated students' fundamental rights under Articles 14, 16, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. It also argued that existing mechanisms had proved inadequate in addressing recurring examination-related irregularities.

According to the plea, despite the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, being in force since June 2024, there remains no robust framework to ensure effective and timely investigations into paper leak cases.

Petitioner Points To Gaps In 2024 Law

The petition claimed that the 2024 law contains several shortcomings, including the absence of mandatory time-bound investigations and trials, a standard investigation procedure, and a mechanism to assess whether accused individuals had prior involvement in paper leak cases.

It further argued that the legislation does not provide for deception detection tests to identify the alleged masterminds behind such crimes.

Highlighting the broader impact, the plea stated that paper leaks have severely affected students and their families by causing financial hardship, disrupting educational and employment opportunities, and contributing to psychological distress and rising suicide rates.

Plea Seeks Stricter Legal Action Against Accused

The petition also sought the application of provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and the Benami Property Act in cases involving examination paper leaks.

It urged the court to direct authorities to examine the previous liabilities of those accused and sought confiscation of the movable and immovable properties of the alleged perpetrators and their family members.

The matter will now be taken up after the Supreme Court concludes hearings in the pending NEET-related cases.