The Supreme Court has sanctioned a re-test for 1,563 candidates affected by irregularities during the NEET-UG 2024 exam held on May 5. This decision follows protests and petitions challenging the National Testing Agency (NTA) for awarding grace marks and alleged malpractices, including question paper leaks.
A vacation bench comprising justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta accepted the Centre’s recommendation to offer the affected candidates a re-test on June 23, canceling their original scorecards. Candidates opting out of the re-test will retain their initial scores without the grace marks.
The NTA assured the court that re-test results would be declared before June 30, ensuring a smooth start to the counselling process on July 6. Despite the re-test, the Supreme Court did not halt the ongoing admissions counselling.
This decision comes after widespread protests, including a significant demonstration in Kolkata on June 10, demanding a re-examination and investigation into the alleged irregularities. The controversy deepened when 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720, an unprecedented number, with six top scorers hailing from the same Faridabad centre, raising suspicions of foul play.
The NEET-UG examination, conducted across 4,750 centres with around 24 lakh participants, saw its results declared on June 4, ahead of the anticipated June 14 release date. The early announcement followed the completion of answer sheet evaluations.
Petitions, including one filed by Physicswallah CEO Alakh Pandey, have called for the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 due to alleged malpractices. The Supreme Court has tagged these petitions for further hearing on July 8, highlighting the ongoing scrutiny of the NTA’s examination processes.
