In certain cases, courts have cited a “real possibility of systemic malaise” to cancel exams despite only a few candidates being found to be beneficiaries of malpractice.

In one such instance, in June 2015, the Supreme Court cancelled the All India Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Entrance Test (AIPMT) conducted by CBSE, which had over six lakh candidates across the country. The court held that segregating the 44 candidates identified as having benefited from malpractice was not the solution, observing that “it is not unlikely that many more candidates have availed such undue advantage.”

The court noted that the modus operandi of the leak made it likely that numerous candidates other than the 44 were beneficiaries, and that it was not possible to identify all of them. Therefore, the SC summarised segregation was not a “viable solution” as “unidentified beneficiaries would stand to gain at the cost of honest candidates.” Observing that the “sanctity of the exam had been compromised,” the court cancelled it and directed a fresh examination.

On the other hand, in August 2024, a three-judge bench led by then Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud refused to order a re-examination for NEET UG 2024, citing the “systemic malaise” threshold. The court observed that “a holistic view” must be taken by examining the extent of unfair means and assessing the possibility of separating tainted candidates from untainted ones.

“There must be at least some evidence to allow the Court to reach that conclusion. This standard need not be unduly strict… However, there must be a real possibility of systemic malaise as borne out by the material before the Court,” the bench observed.

The court added that cancellation could be directed only where “it was not possible to separate the tainted candidates from the untainted ones,” while noting that “fairness and reliability of the examination system cannot be such that public confidence is lost.” The bench distinguished the case from AIPMT, noting that the NEET-UG paper had not been shared on social media before the exam date and there was no “nationwide ring” of accused persons.

In 2019, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court, dealing with malpractices in postal services recruitment exams, observed that “mass copying, leakage of paper are curse to the system of assessment of the competency and merits,” adding that those indulging in such activities “take away the fruits from hardworking meritorious students.”