A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday adjourned by a week the hearing on a public interest petition seeking a directive to the National Testing Agency (NTA) to publish a common protocol for conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) across the country in view of the incident in which girl candidates were forced to remove their innerwear at an examination centre in Kollam.
The petition also sought compensation to the girl candidates for the “mental agony and trauma” they underwent in the incident.
In his petition, Asif Azad of Thiruvananthapuram sought a directive to the NTA to re-conduct the NEET exam for the victims within two weeks prior to the release of the results.
He said it was not for the first time that such incidents happened in the State. A similar incident took place in 2017 in Kannur. These incidents were taking place because of the lack of a common protocol. It was high time such human rights violations were stopped, the petitioner added.
