The Supreme Court of India on Thursday instructed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to re-conduct the undergraduate medical entrance exams for 1,563 students due to concerns over a potential scam.
The re-examination is scheduled for June 23, with results to be announced within a week.
Over 2.3 million students took the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) on May 5. However, a petition filed before the Supreme Court highlighted irregularities in awarding “grace marks” to specific students.
The NEET-UG results were declared on June 4. Among the top scorers, 67 students achieved a perfect score, and seven of these students had taken the exam at the exact centre in Haryana, raising suspicions.
Doubts arose immediately after the results were released, notably when some students scored 719 and 718 out of 720 marks.
Protesting students argued that such scores were implausible, given that the scoring system awards four marks for each correct answer and deducts one for each incorrect answer.
Following nationwide protests, the NTA clarified that grace marks were given to students who faced technical issues during the exam.
Regarding the controversy, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan denied any paper leak.
There is no evidence of a paper leak in NEET-UG. The NTA is a credible body, and allegations of corruption are unfounded, he stated.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), has called for an investigation.
INC President Mallikarjun Kharge posted on X, claiming:
Grace marks were not the only problem. There was rigging, the question paper was leaked, and corruption occurred.
He demanded a Supreme Court-led independent probe into the alleged NEET scam, urging that those responsible be held accountable.
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