New Delhi/IBNS: The Supreme Court on Thursday said the NEET-UG 2024 retest will be held only if the "sanctity" is lost on a large scale due to the paper leak incidents, media reports said.

The court said this while hearing 40 pleas seeking a re-test.

In response to a petitioner's urge to cancel the examination, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said as quoted by NDTV, "You have to show us that the leak was systematic that it affected the entire examination... so as to warrant cancellation of the entire exam..."

"Second, tell us what should be the direction of the investigation in this matter," he added.

"If we accept your wider submission (that leaked question papers compromised the exam results), we would also like your assistance on the lines on which the investigation must happen," the CJI said.

Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA), the exam body, has reiterated that there was "no systemic failure".

The NTA told the Supreme Court in a written submission as quoted by NDTV, "The allegations of the Petitioners that there has been a systemic failure as candidates have obtained unprecedented higher marks only in the top range of mark interval are misconceived and thus denied."

The central government earlier told the top court that it found "no abnormalities" in the examination.

Earlier, the counselling for the NEET was deferred until further notice.

The controversy arose when 67 students achieved perfect scores of 720 in the NEET-UG exam.

The NTA said this happened as some candidates were awarded grace marks due to a faulty question and logistical delays in paper distribution at some centers.

However, a Bihar Police investigation revealed that the exam paper had been leaked to a select group of candidates.

The NEET-UG exam, taken by nearly 24 lakh aspiring medical students, was held on May 5, and the results were released on June 4.

Despite the NTA's efforts to manage the situation, allegations of a widespread leak continued with protests and legal actions nationwide.