NEET-UG 2024: Supreme Court declines retest, adjusts scores for Answer Discrepancy

NEET-UG 2024: Supreme Court declines retest, adjusts scores for Answer Discrepancy
The Supreme Court upholds the integrity of NEET-UG 2024, opting for score adjustments over a retest to address answer discrepancies, impacting over 2 million candidates.
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that there will be no re-test for this year’s NEET-UG exam. Instead, the court decided to adjust scores by deducting five marks from candidates who were incorrectly awarded marks for a question that allegedly had two right answers. Only those candidates who marked the correct answer will retain their marks.
This ruling follows a report from IIT Delhi, which confirmed that only one answer to the contentious question was correct. The court considered the significant consequences of ordering a fresh NEET-UG test, which would affect over 2 million students. The potential disruptions in admissions, the impact on the availability of qualified medical professionals in the future, and the adverse effects on underprivileged sections were key factors in the court’s decision.
The Supreme Court found no evidence of a systemic breach in the exam’s integrity. There was no indication of a question paper leak that could undermine the credibility of the exam. The court’s decision was guided by the principle of segregating untainted results from tainted ones, ensuring that no student who benefited from malpractices would gain admission rights in the future.
Despite the court’s ruling, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will continue its probe into the case. Meanwhile, counselling and other admission processes will proceed as planned.
After the NEET-UG 2024 results were declared on June 4, allegations of irregularities and calls for a re-examination emerged across the country. Over 24 lakh candidates took the exam at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 overseas venues. The results showed an unprecedented 67 students securing the top rank, with six from the same examination centre in Haryana, leading to suspicions of inflated marks.
Additionally, 1,563 students were awarded grace marks due to insufficient time to complete the test. These grace marks, given following a normalization formula, were not proactively communicated by the National Testing Agency (NTA) but were revealed in response to student outcry.
On June 8, Subodh Kumar Singh, Director General of the NTA, announced the formation of a four-member high-powered committee to address grievances from 1,600 candidates across six centres. He reiterated that the exam’s integrity was intact. Subsequently, grace marks awarded were cancelled and affected students were given the option to retake the exam or accept their revised scorecards.
In previous hearings, the Supreme Court acknowledged that a leak had occurred. However, it emphasized that ordering a retest should be a last resort for an exam of this scale, reinforcing the decision to adjust scores rather than conduct a retest.