SC rejects plea against NEET-UG 2025 answer key, results

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea raising questions on the final answer key and results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2025 exam released by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Opining that there could be multiple correct answers for a question, a Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan remarked that the top court will not interfere with the results of a national-level examination at this advanced stage on the basis of a petition filed by an individual.

The petitioner’s counsel cited an order passed by the apex court last year asking the NTA to re-tally the marks of the candidates afresh in view of the opinion rendered by an expert panel of IIT Delhi in respect of a contentious physics question.

However, the Justice Narasimha-led Bench remained firm with its decision not to interfere with the results of the all-India examination, observing that last year’s order was warranted in view of widespread discrepancies and shortcomings in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 exam.

The latest writ petition filed through advocate Sriram P. sought judicial intervention against the NTA’s “arbitrary” and “erroneous” declaration of the final answer key and results, despite receiving well-substantiated objections backed by authoritative academic sources.

As per the writ petition, this refusal to correct demonstrably erroneous answers has led to a grave miscarriage of justice and an unconstitutional denial of marks, severely affecting the petitioner’s merit ranking and future career opportunities.

Relying upon the NCERT Biology book of Class 11, the petition said that it has been specifically stated therein that cortisol (which is an adrenal cortical hormone) is also involved in maintaining the cardiovascular system, and therefore, the authorities have erred in not granting marks in relation to Question No. 136.

Seeking a stay on results, the petitioner claimed that a total of 5 marks (4 marks along with the 1 mark for the incorrect answer deducted from the total marks) would affect his rank in getting a better medical college.

It may be recalled that a similar plea challenging the answer key of NEET-UG 2025 was very recently dismissed by the Supreme Court.

IANS