"Sorry state of affairs": Allahabad High Court after NEET candidate files forged documents to seek re-evaluation

The National Testing Agency (NTA) Tuesday told the Allahabad High Court that it has decided to take legal action against a candidate in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) undergraduate exam 2024 who allegedly filed forged documents before the court to challenge her result [Ayushi Patel vs Union of India and Another]..Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan dismissed the petition moved by Ayushi Patel after her counsel said he had nothing to plead in the case in view of the NTA’s submission that forged documents had been placed before Court.The Court said it cannot restrain the authorities from taking any legal action against Patel. “Be that as it may, this is really sorry state of affairs that the petitioner filed a petition enclosing therewith the forged and fictitious documents, therefore, this Court can not restrain the competent authority / authorities to take any legal action against the petitioner strictly in accordance with law,” the Court said. .Patel this month had moved the Court seeking manual checking of her OMR (Optical mark recognition) sheet. She had also sought an inquiry against the NTA. In response, the NTA produced the candidate’s original OMR sheet, attendance sheet and the scorecard. It was found that the documents attached with the petition had a different application number than the one mentioned on original documents..The counsel representing NTA told the Court that since the documents filed with the petition were found forged and fictitious, the competent authority has decided to take legal action in the case.“He has shown all the original documents of the petitioner in terms of the aforesaid order, perusal thereof reveals that the statement of Sri Bhasin is correct inasmuch as the documents, so filed by the petitioner in the writ petition are forged and fictitious,” the Court noted.A candidate indulging in unfair practices like false claims can be debarred for three years in future and also be liable for criminal action, the Court was told.The NTA also referred to an order passed by the High Court in February this year for registration of FIR against a candidate who was also found to have submitted forged documents with her petition..Following this, the counsel representing Patel submitted that the plea may be dismissed as not pressed. “Since the learned counsel for the petitioner has requested that this petition may be dismissed being not pressed as he has nothing to say or plead in favour of the petitioner, therefore, this writ petition is dismissed being not pressed,” the Court ordered.Advocate Piyush Agnihotri represented the petitioner.Advocate Varun Pandey represented the Union of IndiaAdvocate Shashank Bhasin represented the NTA.[Read Judgment]