SC issues notice in petition seeking cancellation of All India Pre-Medical Entrance Test, 2015

The Supreme Court issued notice to the Central government, Haryana government, CBSE and the Medical Council of India in a petition seeking cancellation of the All India Pre-Medical/ Pre-Dental Entrance Test, 2015 (AIPMT) and praying for holding fresh exam..The petition has been filed by 23 students who wrote AIPMT, 2015..The matter was heard by a vacation Bench of Justices AK Sikri and UU Lalit. Senior Advocate Gopal Jain along with advocates Prashant Bhushan, Vaibhav Choudhary, Bharat Sangal, Vernika Tomar, Chinmayee Chandra and I Abenla appeared for the petitioners and sought for early hearing which was allowed..The AIPMT was held on May 3, 2015. Reports had appeared in various newspapers on May 4 pertaining to leakage of questions paper and arrest of persons in connection with the same..As per the petition, the petitioners are,.“greatly distressed by several reports coming in the media about the leakage of the question paper/answer keys and use of unfair means, mass copying/ cheating after the exam was over. The Petitioners are under apprehension that secrecy, sanctity of the examination is not intact, and large-scale mal practice has vitiated the entire examination process.”.….On 4.5.2015, a news report was published in National Daily Hindustan Times stating that the Rohtak police have arrested four persons, including two dental doctors and one MBBS student, for conspiring to leak the answer sheets for the All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Test (AIPMT), which was conducted on May 3. It was further mentioned that the accused were working in collusion with Roop Singh Dangi of Madina (Rohtak) who had provided them an answer sheet for which they were to strike a deal between Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh with nine students. The accused had installed digital watches and microphones in the undergarments, which would be given to the students during the exam to access the answers. The police also recovered copies of the answer sheets from their mobile phones, which they had received via Whats App.”.The petitioners have contended that the leakage of question paper/answer key and use of unfair means by candidates participating in the examination process has shaken the confidence of honest/genuine students and their parents in the system and has vitiated transparency, authenticity and sanctity of the examination process. They have further contended that if the CBSE fails to cancel the exam and continue with the exam process, it will be violative of the petitioners’ right to equality guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution..“Because right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution is a fundamental rights guaranteed to all the citizen of the Country. It is humbly submitted that if the Respondent No 3, fail to cancel the AIPMT and continue with pronouncement of the result as per the schedule date the same will be in violation of the Article 14 of the Constitution. It is submitted that the leakage of question paper/answer keys and use of unfair means at mass level has created two separate classes of students who participated in the examination. Firstly, those students who participated in examination without indulging into any malpractice of any kind and secondly, those students who were caught red handed by the Police and authorities with answer keys during the examination while using electronics devices in the examination hall. In current scenario students belong to both the classes cannot be put into same footing. If the students who falls in later category allowed to participate in the examinations than the sanctity of the examination will be compromised.”.The petitioners have also relied on two precedents, The Bihar School Examination Board v. Subhash Chandra Sinha [1970 (1) SCC 648] and B Ramanjini v. State of AP [2002 (5) SCC 533], to assert that large scale use of unfair means by candidates is a sufficient ground for cancelling the exam..Based on the above, they have sought for a direction to the CBSE to cancel the exam and hold fresh exam within a stipulated time..The case will now be heard on May 21.