Supreme court upholds NEET UG results despite controversies; says no sufficient material on record to order re-exam

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, July 23 ordered that the cancellation of a fresh NEET-UG examination for the current year.Citing significant repercussions for the 24 lakh students who participated in the exam. 

“At the present stage, there is absence of sufficient material on record to lead to the conclusion that result of the…examination stand vitiated or that there is a systemic breach to the sanctity of the examination," said SC.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) highlighted the potential disruption to the admission schedule, the cascading effects on the medical education course, the impact on the availability of qualified medical professionals in the future, and the serious disadvantages it would pose to marginalized groups benefiting from reservation policies in seat allocation.

He said "Court realises that directing a fresh NEET UG for the present year would be replete with serious consequences which will be for over 24 lakh students who appeared in this exam.. and cause disruption of admission schedule, cascading effects on the course of medical education, impact on availability of qualified medical professionals in the future and seriously disadvantageous for the marginalised group for whom reservation was made in allocation of seats."

The CJI then stated, "Thus, we are of the view that ordering the cancellation of the entire exam is neither justified on the application of settled principles propounded by this court on the basis of material on record." 

Regarding the discrepancies in the answer key, the CJI noted that the National Testing Agency (NTA) initially indicated the second option as the correct answer to a particular question. However, following representations, both options 2 and 4 were considered correct. Despite this adjustment, a report submitted by a three-member committee led by the IIT Delhi director concluded that option 4 was the correct answer.

During the hearing on pleas seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG, a petitioner pointed out that as many as 44 candidates were able to secure full marks on account of the ambiguous question, and questioned NTA's decision to award compensatory marks in violation of its own instructions asking students to follow the latest NCERT textbook.