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New Delhi, June 13, 2024 – In a significant development, the Union Government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) have announced the cancellation and withdrawal of results for 1563 NEET UG candidates, following a decision by the Supreme Court. This move comes in response to compensatory marks awarded by the NTA for loss of time during the examination.
The affected candidates will be notified of their actual scores obtained in the NEET UG 2024 exam held on May 5, 2024. They will have the option to either retain their original marks, sans compensatory adjustments, or appear in a re-exam to be conducted by the NTA. The counsels for the Centre and the NTA informed the Supreme Court bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that notifications regarding the re-test for these candidates would be issued today, June 13, 2024.
The re-exam is slated for June 23, 2024, with results expected by June 30, 2024, to ensure that the counselling process for NEET UG 2024 can commence on July 6, 2024. Following these submissions, the Apex Court disposed of the plea challenging the NTA’s decision to grant compensatory marks.
Multiple pleas were filed before the Supreme Court regarding the NEET UG 2024 exams, including allegations of unfair means and objections to the NTA’s policy of granting grace marks to 1563 candidates. The Union Government’s counsel, Mr. Agarwal, submitted that a committee set up by the NTA met on June 12, 2024, and concluded that the compensatory marks methodology had led to a skewed and unfair outcome. The committee recommended a re-exam as the most appropriate solution.
The committee’s recommendations included:
- Cancellation and withdrawal of the scorecards issued on June 4, 2024, for the affected 1563 candidates.
- Notification of actual scores without compensatory marks via registered emails.
- Conducting a re-examination for the affected candidates, with results based on actual marks for those opting out of the re-exam.
Despite objections from the petitioners, the Supreme Court bench deemed the re-exam solution reasonable and limited the option to the 1563 identified candidates. Concerns were raised about the potential for a wider re-exam, but the bench noted that over a month had passed since the original exam, and no further claims had been made.
The bench’s order reiterated that compensatory marks were awarded based on a committee’s recommendation, and subsequent meetings on June 10, 11, and 12 led to the decision to withdraw these marks and offer a re-exam. The remaining issues concerning the use of unfair means in the NEET UG 2024 examination will be addressed in the next hearing on July 8, 2024.
This decision underscores the commitment to fairness and transparency in the NEET UG examination process, ensuring that all candidates are evaluated on an equal footing. The re-exam will provide a fair opportunity for the affected candidates to secure their rightful positions based on their merit.
