NEET UG Controversy: Fresh Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Recall Of Results, Reconduct Exams

New Delhi: The controversy over the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test – Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 refuses to die.

A fresh petition has been filed in Supreme Court seeking to recall the results and hold fresh examination citing discrepancies in the results declared.

Two days ago, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced formation of a high-powered committee to analyse grievances of 1,653 students. Last month, a number of petitions complained of a question paper leak.

Telangana’s Abdullah Mohammed Faiz and Dr Shaik Roshan Mohiddin from Andhra Pradesh, who work for students in their respective states, filed the latest petition in the top court on Monday.

They have pointed out alleged discrepancies in grant of grace marks, saying the high marks of 718 and 719 are statistically impossible.

“There is no defined logic for the grace marks given to students. No list has been shared as per given grace marks to students. Moreover, the reason for awarding the grace marks is wastage of time. However, the same was never disclosed in the information bulletin before the exam,” the petition stated.

They also questioned how as many as 67 students from one particular centre got full 720 marks.

The plea further stated that a provisional answer key released by National Testing Agency (NTA) picked the correct answers from the multiple choices, but more than 13,000 students challenged the key on the ground that the text book contained information that pointed to different answers.

“Cheating in entrance exams undermines the principles of meritocracy and equal opportunities, which are essential for fostering social mobility and ensuring fairness in society. It perpetuates inequalities by favouring those who can afford to pay for leaked exam papers or engage in fraudulent activities, while disadvantaging those who rely on their hard work and merit to succeed, and the same also impacts society as a whole,” the petition said.

“Medical field requires a deep and thorough understanding of scientific and medical knowledge. Cheating or using unfair means to pass exams can lead to a lack of competence, potentially endangering the health and lives of patients,” the petitioners stated.

The earlier petitions filed in Supreme Court alleged complaints about a question paper leak from the May 5 exam.

The top court issued a notice on May 17, but didn’t halt declaration of results, which happened on June 4.

Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided that a high-powered committee will analyse the grievances of 1,600 students who appeared for NEET 2024 already.