New Delhi - The Supreme Court has been informed by the central government that 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates, who received grace marks, will have the option to retake the exam on June 23. The National Testing Agency (NTA) stated that the decision to award these grace marks has been revoked, and a committee has been constituted to review the results of these candidates. The scorecards of these students have been canceled, and they will be given the opportunity to retake the exam. The retest results are expected to be declared before June 30.
The Supreme Court, addressing various petitions related to the NEET-UG 2024 examination, reiterated that it would not halt the counselling process for admissions to MBBS, BDS, and other courses. The court emphasized that the counselling process will continue as planned, with the sessions starting on July 6. "Counselling will go on and we will not stop it. If the exam goes, then everything goes in totality, so there is nothing to fear," the court stated.
One of the petitions brought before the court was filed by Alakh Pandey, CEO of 'Physics Wallah', challenging the alleged arbitrary allocation of grace marks by the NTA. The petitioner claimed that the awarding of grace marks was not a standard practice and questioned the basis for this decision. The plea also called for a comprehensive investigation into the conduct of the examination by an independent high-powered committee.
Amid the controversy, allegations of malpractices, including multiple paper leaks during the NEET-UG 2024 exam held on May 5, have surfaced. The petitioners argued that these irregularities violated Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution, as they provided an undue advantage to some candidates over others who attempted the exam fairly. The alleged paper leaks have been flagged by several opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress. The AAP has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored SIT probe into the issue, while Congress leaders such as Priyanka Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and KC Venugopal have voiced concerns over the alleged corruption and paper leaks.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has stated that there is no evidence of a paper leak in the NEET-UG exam. The Supreme Court has recorded the NTA's statement regarding the retest and the steps being taken to address the issue.
The NEET-UG 2024 examination was conducted by the NTA across 4,750 centers with approximately 24 lakh candidates participating. The results, initially expected on June 14, were released on June 4, possibly due to the early completion of answer sheet evaluations. However, the decision to award grace marks to 1,563 candidates led to significant backlash and legal challenges.
On June 10, many students rallied in Delhi, calling for an inquiry into the reported irregularities. Allegations suggest that the awarding of grace marks resulted in 67 students attaining the highest rank jointly. The NTA later released a document with frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the exam, reiterating that there were no paper leaks. According to NTA officials, 63 cases of students using unfair means were reported, with 23 students being debarred for varying periods. Despite the controversy, NTA sources maintain that the integrity of the medical entrance exam remains intact.
In response to the uproar, the Education Ministry formed a four-member panel to review the grace marks awarded to the students. The adjustments were reportedly made to address inconsistencies in NCERT textbooks, which led to 44 candidates receiving full marks and many others seeing an increase in their scores, contributing to the high number of perfect scores.