The Evening Wrap: NTA says score cards of 1,563 NEET candidates withdrawn

The Supreme Court recorded the Union government’s submission on June 13 that the score cards of 1,563 candidates granted compensatory marks in the undergraduate medical entrance examination, known as NEET-UG 2024, will stand cancelled. These candidates can sit for a retest, likely to be held on June 23. The Union government informed a Vacation Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that these candidates will now be informed of their actual scores without the compensatory or grace marks. If they decide not to sit for the re-test, their original scores without grace marks will be treated as their final scores. The court was hearing petitions challenging the award of the grace marks to the 1,563 candidates using a “normalisation formula”, on the grounds that they were not allowed the full period of 3.2 hours to write the exam at their respective centres. The compensatory marks were awarded to these candidates on the recommendation of a committee constituted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body which conducts the NEET. When the decision to grant grace marks had come under a cloud, and faced by rising public furore against the measure, the NTA had formed a subsequent committee, which had held its deliberations between June 10 and June 12. Appearing for the Union, advocate Kanu Agrawal submitted that this committee was of the opinion that the grant of compensatory marks to 1,563 students for loss of time had led to a skewed situation. Grace marks were limited only to unattempted questions. Consequently, Agrawal informed the court that a re-examination would be held for the 1,563 candidates. “The results of the affected candidates who do not wish to appear for the re-examination will be declared on their actual marks without grace marks obtained by them in the examination held on May 5, 2024,” the court recorded in its order. For those among the 1,563 candidates who opt to take the re-examination, their actual marks in the re-test will be taken as their result, and their previous marks from the May 5 test will be discarded, the court noted. Appearing for the NTA, senior advocate Naresh Kaushik apprised the court that the date for the re-examination would be notified on June 13 itself. The agency said the re-test would likely be held on June 23, with the results to be declared on June 30. Care will be taken to not disturb the counselling session scheduled on July 6, the NTA added. The Bench disposed of the pleas on the issue of grace marks. As for the allegations of question paper leaks and other concerns, the court directed the NTA to file its response in two weeks. Earlier, while hearing another petition filed by 10 candidates, the court had scheduled the next hearing on July 8. One of the petitions was filed by online ed-tech platform Physics Wallah’s CEO Alakh Pandey, represented by advocate J. Sai Deepak, who claimed that the NTA’s decision to award grace marks was “arbitrary”. Arrest warrant issued against former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in POCSO case The First Fast Track Court (POCSO court) has issued an arrest warrant against former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in a case registered against him on March 14 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The octogenarian is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl who had come to him seeking his help, along with her mother, on February 2. With the arrest warrant issued, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the case will now move to arrest the BJP leader. Yediyurappa is a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board and the Central Election Committee. According to the Travel Plan (TP) issued by his office, Yediyurappa is in New Delhi. Following a writ petition by the victim in the case in the High Court of Karnataka questioning why the accused is yet to be arrested, the CID issued summons to the former chief minister to appear for questioning on June 12. Yediyurappa responded that he was in New Delhi and would appear for questioning on June 17. This prompted the CID to move an application seeking an arrest warrant against the former chief minister, in the Fast Track Court 1 in Bengaluru. The court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Yediyurappa on June 13 evening. PM Modi leaves to Italy for G7 Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 13 embarked on a trip to Italy to take part in G7 Outreach Summit, marking his first trip abroad after assuming office for the third consecutive term. Prime Minister Modi, in his departure statement, said that he is glad that his first state visit in third consecutive term is to Italy for the G7 Summit. He recalled his previous visit to Italy and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visits to India which have contributed significantly to enhancing bilateral ties. “I am glad that my first visit in the third consecutive term is to Italy for the G7 Summit. I warmly recall my visit to Italy for the G20 Summit in 2021. Prime Minister Meloni’s two visits to India last year were instrumental in infusing momentum and depth in our bilateral agenda. We remain committed to consolidate the India-Italy strategic partnership, and bolster cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean regions,” PM Modi said. The Italian Prime Minister had invited PM Modi for the G7 Outreach Summit. It will be India’s 11th participation in the G7 Summit and PM Modi’s fifth consecutive participation at the G7 Summit. On the sidelines, PM Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders attending the Summit. PM Modi is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart. Supreme Court stays release of Hindi movie ‘Hamare Baarah’ The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the June 14 release of Annu Kapoor’s movie Hamare Baarah after taking note of allegations that the film is derogatory to the Islamic faith and married Muslim women. A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of the submissions of lawyer Fauzia Shakil, who represented the petitioner Azhar Basha Tamboli and asked the Bombay High Court to take an expeditious decision on the plea. “We have seen the movie trailer in the morning and all the offensive dialogues continue in the trailer,” the bench observed while staying the release of the film. The bench stayed the screening of the film till the disposal of the petition by the Bombay High Court. Shakil said the high court vacated the stay on release of the movie by an “unreasoned order”. “The high court could not have directed the CBFC to constitute a committee because the CBFC was a party, interested in the litigation,” she said. All objections, including the direction to the Central Board of Flim Certification (CBFC) to select the committee, have been left open for the parties to raise before the high court, the top court said. The movie, which is already banned in Karnataka, was to be released on June 14. Maharashtra Rajya Sabha bypoll: Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar is NCP’s candidate Ending days of suspense, the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction on June 13 announced Sunetra Pawar their candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypoll which will be held on June 25. Pawar’s election to the Upper House is likely to take place unopposed as the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ coalition – comprising of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Pawar’s NCP — has strength of more than 180 MLAs (BJP 103, NCP 40 Shiv sena 38) as compared to the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which has only 69 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly. The Rajya Sabha seat had become vacant after Patel’s resignation in February this year. Sunetra Pawar’s maiden entry into Parliament is being dubbed a ‘backdoor’ one by observers after she lost spectacularly (by a margin of 1.58 lakh votes) to her sister-in-law Supriya Sule, daughter of the NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar in the hotly contested Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. Sule had won a fourth consecutive term to retain the Pawar citadel of Baramati. The loss of Baramati has been a body blow to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s prestige, given that his son, Parth Pawar had lost the 2019 general election from Maval Lok Sabha seat by a massive margin of more than 3 lakh votes to the Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne. In that context, Sunetra Pawar’s entry into Parliament is seen not just as a step towards her political rehabilitation but also as a means of strengthening the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction against the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) in Baramati ahead of the crucial Maharashtra Assembly election later this year. Incidentally, Parth Pawar had been eagerly gunning for a Rajya Sabha nomination, as was senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal among others. Quashing all speculation of him being ‘upset’ over not being considered for the Rajya Sabha seat by his party, Bhujbal clarified: “Yesterday [June 12], the NCP’s core committee including working president Praful Patel and State chief Sunil Tatkare and other Ministers met to discussion on the candidature. After discussions, we unanimously took the name of Sunetra Pawar. While I was an aspirant for the seat along with Anand Paranjpe, Baba Siddique and other leaders, I am not all upset with Pawar’s candidature.” Bhujbal, who has been at odds with his party leadership in the recent past with his stance over a number of issues, denied that the NCP was being used as “a private property” by Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel. “Do you see disappointment on my face? All 13 aspirants for this seat cannot go to the Rajya Sabha. Everyone has to follow the party’s decision. If every person in the party wishes to run it according to his own will, then how will the party function? So, this [to send Sunetra Pawar to the Upper House] is not Ajit Pawar’s decision but that of the party,” he said. In Brief: The Centre on June 13 reappointed former IPS officer Ajit Doval as the National Security Adviser (NSA), according to an official order. His appointment will be co-terminus with the term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or until further orders, the order said. The Centre also reappointed P.K. Mishra as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. His appointment too will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, said a government order. “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ajit Doval, IPS (Retired) as National Security Adviser with effect from 10.06.2024,” said the order issued by the Personnel Ministry. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 13 June 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( NEET-UG 2024 results: Score cards withdrawn for 1,563 candidates who were given grace marks; can write retest, NTA tells Supreme Court The Supreme Court [recorded the Union government’s submission]( on June 13 that the score cards of 1,563 candidates granted compensatory marks in the undergraduate medical entrance examination, known as NEET-UG 2024, will stand cancelled. These candidates can sit for a retest, likely to be held on June 23. The Union government informed a Vacation Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that these candidates will now be informed of their actual scores without the compensatory or grace marks. If they decide not to sit for the re-test, their original scores without grace marks will be treated as their final scores. The court was hearing petitions challenging the award of the grace marks to the 1,563 candidates using a “normalisation formula”, on the grounds that they were not allowed the full period of 3.2 hours to write the exam at their respective centres. The compensatory marks were awarded to these candidates on the recommendation of a committee constituted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body which conducts the NEET. When the decision to grant grace marks had come under a cloud, and faced by rising public furore against the measure, the NTA had formed a subsequent committee, which had held its deliberations between June 10 and June 12. Appearing for the Union, advocate Kanu Agrawal submitted that this committee was of the opinion that the grant of compensatory marks to 1,563 students for loss of time had led to a skewed situation. Grace marks were limited only to unattempted questions. Consequently, Agrawal informed the court that a re-examination would be held for the 1,563 candidates. “The results of the affected candidates who do not wish to appear for the re-examination will be declared on their actual marks without grace marks obtained by them in the examination held on May 5, 2024,” the court recorded in its order. For those among the 1,563 candidates who opt to take the re-examination, their actual marks in the re-test will be taken as their result, and their previous marks from the May 5 test will be discarded, the court noted. Appearing for the NTA, senior advocate Naresh Kaushik apprised the court that the date for the re-examination would be notified on June 13 itself. The agency said the re-test would likely be held on June 23, with the results to be declared on June 30. Care will be taken to not disturb the counselling session scheduled on July 6, the NTA added. The Bench disposed of the pleas on the issue of grace marks. As for the allegations of question paper leaks and other concerns, the court directed the NTA to file its response in two weeks. Earlier, while hearing another petition filed by 10 candidates, the court had scheduled the next hearing on July 8. One of the petitions was filed by online ed-tech platform Physics Wallah’s CEO Alakh Pandey, represented by advocate J. Sai Deepak, who claimed that the NTA’s decision to award grace marks was “arbitrary”. Arrest warrant issued against former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in POCSO case The First Fast Track Court (POCSO court) has issued an [arrest warrant against former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa]( in a case registered against him on March 14 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The octogenarian is accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl who had come to him seeking his help, along with her mother, on February 2. With the arrest warrant issued, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probing the case will now move to arrest the BJP leader. Yediyurappa is a member of the BJP Parliamentary Board and the Central Election Committee. According to the Travel Plan (TP) issued by his office, Yediyurappa is in New Delhi. Following a writ petition by the victim in the case in the High Court of Karnataka questioning why the accused is yet to be arrested, the CID issued summons to the former chief minister to appear for questioning on June 12. Yediyurappa responded that he was in New Delhi and would appear for questioning on June 17. This prompted the CID to move an application seeking an arrest warrant against the former chief minister, in the Fast Track Court 1 in Bengaluru. The court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Yediyurappa on June 13 evening. PM Modi leaves to Italy for G7 Summit Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 13 embarked on a [trip to Italy]( to take part in G7 Outreach Summit, marking his first trip abroad after assuming office for the third consecutive term. Prime Minister Modi, in his departure statement, said that he is glad that his first state visit in third consecutive term is to Italy for the G7 Summit. He recalled his previous visit to Italy and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visits to India which have contributed significantly to enhancing bilateral ties. “I am glad that my first visit in the third consecutive term is to Italy for the G7 Summit. I warmly recall my visit to Italy for the G20 Summit in 2021. Prime Minister Meloni’s two visits to India last year were instrumental in infusing momentum and depth in our bilateral agenda. We remain committed to consolidate the India-Italy strategic partnership, and bolster cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean regions,” PM Modi said. The Italian Prime Minister had invited PM Modi for the G7 Outreach Summit. It will be India’s 11th participation in the G7 Summit and PM Modi’s fifth consecutive participation at the G7 Summit. On the sidelines, PM Modi is expected to hold bilateral meetings with leaders attending the Summit. PM Modi is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart. Supreme Court stays release of Hindi movie ‘Hamare Baarah’ The Supreme Court on Thursday [stayed the June 14 release of Annu Kapoor’s movie Hamare Baarah]( after taking note of allegations that the film is derogatory to the Islamic faith and married Muslim women. A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of the submissions of lawyer Fauzia Shakil, who represented the petitioner Azhar Basha Tamboli and asked the Bombay High Court to take an expeditious decision on the plea. “We have seen the movie trailer in the morning and all the offensive dialogues continue in the trailer,” the bench observed while staying the release of the film. The bench stayed the screening of the film till the disposal of the petition by the Bombay High Court. Shakil said the high court vacated the stay on release of the movie by an “unreasoned order”. “The high court could not have directed the CBFC to constitute a committee because the CBFC was a party, interested in the litigation,” she said. All objections, including the direction to the Central Board of Flim Certification (CBFC) to select the committee, have been left open for the parties to raise before the high court, the top court said. The movie, which is already banned in Karnataka, was to be released on June 14. Maharashtra Rajya Sabha bypoll: Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar is NCP’s candidate Ending days of suspense, the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction on June 13 announced Sunetra Pawar their [candidate for the Rajya Sabha bypoll]( which will be held on June 25. Pawar’s election to the Upper House is likely to take place unopposed as the ruling ‘Mahayuti’ coalition – comprising of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mr. Pawar’s NCP — has strength of more than 180 MLAs (BJP 103, NCP 40 Shiv sena 38) as compared to the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) which has only 69 MLAs in the 288-member Assembly. The Rajya Sabha seat had become vacant after Patel’s resignation in February this year. Sunetra Pawar’s maiden entry into Parliament is being dubbed a ‘backdoor’ one by observers after she lost spectacularly (by a margin of 1.58 lakh votes) to her sister-in-law Supriya Sule, daughter of the NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar in the hotly contested Baramati Lok Sabha constituency. Sule had won a fourth consecutive term to retain the Pawar citadel of Baramati. The loss of Baramati has been a body blow to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s prestige, given that his son, Parth Pawar had lost the 2019 general election from Maval Lok Sabha seat by a massive margin of more than 3 lakh votes to the Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Barne. In that context, Sunetra Pawar’s entry into Parliament is seen not just as a step towards her political rehabilitation but also as a means of strengthening the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction against the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) in Baramati ahead of the crucial Maharashtra Assembly election later this year. Incidentally, Parth Pawar had been eagerly gunning for a Rajya Sabha nomination, as was senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal among others. Quashing all speculation of him being ‘upset’ over not being considered for the Rajya Sabha seat by his party, Bhujbal clarified: “Yesterday [June 12], the NCP’s core committee including working president Praful Patel and State chief Sunil Tatkare and other Ministers met to discussion on the candidature. After discussions, we unanimously took the name of Sunetra Pawar. While I was an aspirant for the seat along with Anand Paranjpe, Baba Siddique and other leaders, I am not all upset with Pawar’s candidature.” Bhujbal, who has been at odds with his party leadership in the recent past with his stance over a number of issues, denied that the NCP was being used as “a private property” by Ajit Pawar, Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel. “Do you see disappointment on my face? All 13 aspirants for this seat cannot go to the Rajya Sabha. Everyone has to follow the party’s decision. If every person in the party wishes to run it according to his own will, then how will the party function? So, this [to send Sunetra Pawar to the Upper House] is not Ajit Pawar’s decision but that of the party,” he said. In Brief: The Centre on June 13 [reappointed former IPS officer Ajit Doval]( as the National Security Adviser (NSA), according to an official order. His appointment will be co-terminus with the term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or until further orders, the order said. The Centre also reappointed P.K. Mishra as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. His appointment too will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, said a government order. “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ajit Doval, IPS (Retired) as National Security Adviser with effect from 10.06.2024,” said the order issued by the Personnel Ministry. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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