NEET controversy: Plea in Kerala HC seeks compensation

NEW DELHI: A petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court seeking compensation for the girl students, who were asked to remove their innerwear before appearing for the NEET exam in the Kollam district of Kerala.

The petitioner Asif Azad, who is a Thiruvananthapuram native, also sought an order in favour of the students by directing the National Testing Agency (NTA) to re-conduct the NEET exam within two weeks prior to the release of the results.

The court will consider the petition on Friday. The petitioner also sought directions to the Central Government to publish a common protocol to conduct examinations across the country.

The petitioner contended, "No matter what the exam was, the physical examination, which was conducted under stress just before the exam, is one of the things that destroys a person's memory prior to the exam."

Earlier last week, the National Testing Agency (NTA) constituted a three-member fact-finding committee to probe the alleged incident in Kollam where a student was asked to remove her innerwear before appearing for the NEET exam.

The police had earlier arrested five people in connection with the alleged incident. The arrested people include three from the agency and two from the college.

Earlier, Kerala police registered a case in this matter. A case was registered under sections 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code at the Chadayamangalam police station under the Kollam Rural police district.

The incident came to light after a student filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police at Kollam after the NEET exam for undergraduate medical courses on July 18.

In her complaint, the student alleged that she was asked to remove her innerwear before entering the examination hall.

Reportedly, the parent of the student alleged that girls were forced to remove their innerwear before being permitted to sit for the exam and they had to give the exam along with other students who were boys as well as male invigilators, which made the girls uncomfortable and affected them mentally.

Citing the National Testing Agency's guidelines, the parent also highlighted that according to the norms mandated by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET had not mentioned any ban on any form of brassiere (bra) and hooks.

Meanwhile, the NTA an autonomous and self-sustained testing organization for conducting entrance examinations in a statement said that the exam centre's superintendent, the independent observer, as well as city coordinator (NEET) of the Kollam district, did not find any such incident happening at the examination centre.

Later, the NTA constituted a three-member fact-finding committee to probe the alleged incident in Kollam. The Committee will submit its report in four weeks.