NEET-UG row: Grace marks of 1,563 students scrapped, re-test on June 23

The grace marks of 1,563 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 candidates will be scrapped, and they have been given the option to appear for a re-test on June 23, the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The government's decision follows allegations of irregularities and unfair marking in the nationwide medical entrance exams. If these candidates do not take the re-test, their earlier scores will be considered as the result.

“The results of the affected candidates who do not wish to appear for the re-examination will be declared on their actual marks without compensation obtained by them in the examination held on May 5, and the marks obtained by the candidates who will appear in the re-test will be considered and their marks based on the examination held on May 5, 2024, will be discarded,” the Bench said in its order.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, however, rejected allegations of paper leak and rigging in NEET-UG, asserting that there is no evidence to substantiate these claims.

The NEET-UG results were announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 4.

“There is no evidence of paper leak in NEET-UG. The allegations of corruption in NTA are unfounded, it is a very credible body. The Supreme Court is hearing the matter and we will abide by its decision and ensure that no student is at a disadvantage,” Pradhan told reporters.

Taking note of the submissions, the Bench said all the pleas, including the petitions seeking the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 on account of allegations of question paper leaks and other malpractices over the issue of award of grace marks, will be taken up for hearing on July 8.

The counsel for the National Testing Agency (NTA) also submitted that the re-test will be notified today, and its results will be published before June 30 so that the counselling can start for admission in the MBBS, BDS, and other courses on July 6.

The NEET-UG examination held on May 5 was taken by around 2.4 million students across 4,750 centres across the country.

The allegations such as the question paper leak and the grant of grace marks to over 1,500 medical aspirants led to protests and the filing of cases in seven high courts and the Supreme Court.

As many as 67 students scored a perfect score of 720, unprecedented in the NTA's history, with six from a single centre in Faridabad figuring in the list, raising suspicions about rigging.