NEET-UG re-test ruled out

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected petitions seeking cancellation of the contentious NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance exam saying there is no material to indicate a systemic leak of the question paper which could disrupt the sanctity of the exam.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud observed that a re-examination would have “serious consequences” for close to 23 lakh students and hinder the availability of qualified medical professionals in the future.

The court however underscored that it is undisputable that a leak of the question paper had taken place in Hazaribagh and Patna. It highlighted that the CBI identified 155 students at these centres as direct beneficiaries of the leak. Earlier in the proceedings, an expert panel of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi informed the top court that the fourth option of a disputed physics question in the exam is the correct answer.

This is likely to impact the total marks of over four lakh candidates, including 44 students who scored perfect scores in the exam. Last week, the National Testing Agency (NTA) which conducts the exam, faced tough questions from the court on the distribution of wrong question papers in eight centres, including in Jhajjar, and later the award of grace marks for this reason to students.