At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar sought more time to file an affidavit in the matter, explaining what is being done to secure the process, and said he will present a “holistic view”.

“Children’s problems will have to be addressed without any reservations. I can assure you from my personal knowledge, it is being monitored, supervised, and everything is being done at the highest executive level,” Mehta said.

This comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the alleged NEET paper leaks issue, announcing fast-track courts to ensure speedy justice in such cases, marking his first public intervention on the issue amid ongoing protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Radhakrishnan Committee

Referring to the recommendations of the high-powered committee constituted in 2024 under the former Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan Committee to overhaul the National Testing Agency to make the NEET foolproof, the bench then highlighted some points which it said the Centre’s proposed affidavit should reflect.

“Last time, we mentioned the Radhakrishnan Committee’s recommendations. It specifically refers to the governing board. So your affidavit should specify exactly what has been done regarding the governing board. And this would comprise transparency of the test, nominations and stakeholder equations,” Justice Narasimha said.

“So far as the domain-specific requirement… You have indicated that IITs, UGC, and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sanghatan have been considered, but then it doesn’t indicate what progress has been made with respect to the domain experts,” Justice Narasimha added.

Justice Narasimha said, “We are focusing on institutionalisation. Ad hocism has troubled us for years.”

Justice Narasimha said the government should also address the aspects of printing and transportation of question papers. “I am aware that a similar issue arose two years back and we had explained, right from printing to when students get the paper, what the system is in place.”

Justice Narasimha referred to the government’s decision to deploy the Indian Air Force to transport question papers this time. “Here in particular, because of what had happened, you deployed the Air Force, but that is only an ad hoc situation, not a permanent one.”

Mehta said, “I can assure that with children, there cannot be any adversarial approach. The Radhakrishnan Committee is fully accepted. But we are going beyond that.”

Questions about data

Justice Narasimha asked how data would be kept safe when NEET switches to digital mode. “Please reflect on that also and tell us… How is data transferred? How does data protection occur? That’s very important because when you shift to this, leaks could occur, making data unsafe. And the entire thing breaks down,” the judge said.

Mehta said there has been no such instance as of now, but they will have to be careful.

Justice Narasimha said the court was focusing on institutionalising reforms rather than ad hoc fixes. Referring to the proposed shift to computer-based testing, he asked the Centre to explain its roadmap, including the cybersecurity framework, the agency responsible for implementing it, and the safeguards that would be put in place.

“Computer assistance is also another thing which the committee has spoken about this… Encryption of question papers…. This falls into the same category as if you digitise it, how will you secure it?” the judge asked.