NEET Ranks of 4.2 Lakh Candidates, 44 Toppers To Dip in Revised NEET-UG Merit List, Here's Why

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the petition to cancel NEET UG 2024 due to a contentious physics question. The court directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to upload a revised NEET UG merit list after recalculating the physics answer, accepting the IIT Delhi panel's report that confirmed only one correct answer for the disputed question.

The ambiguous physics question will cost over four lakh candidates four marks each, resulting in a substantial reshuffle in their NEET ranks. This adjustment is expected to affect the positions of 44 candidates who were previously among the toppers.

The NEET UG results, declared on June 4, saw 67 candidates achieving the top All India rank. The marks of 718 and 719 obtained by two candidates further fueled questions about the NTA's normalization method.

In a clarification issued on June 6, the NTA stated that 1,563 candidates were compensated for the loss of time, resulting in revised scores ranging from -20 to 720 marks. Among these, two candidates scored 718 and 719 marks, respectively, due to compensatory marks. CCTV footage analysis confirmed that the integrity of the exam was maintained at these centers.

The NTA received 13,373 challenges to the provisional answer key of one physics question. Subject experts initially considered two options as correct due to differences in the old and new editions of the NCERT textbook. However, a team of three subject experts from IIT Delhi, led by Director Rangan Banerjee, determined that only one answer was correct.

What was the NEET Physics Question That Sparked Controversy?

The question in dispute presented two statements and asked candidates to pick the correct option from the four provided:

1. Atoms are electrically neutral as they contain equal numbers of positive and negative charges.

2. Atoms of each element are stable and emit their characteristic spectrum.

The options were:

(i) 1 is incorrect and 2 is correct

(ii) 1 is correct and 2 is incorrect

(iii) 1 and 2 are both incorrect

(iv) 1 and 2 are both correct

Based on the expert opinion, the Supreme Court ruled that the NTA must re-tally the NEET UG results, accepting that option (ii) was the only correct answer to the physics question.

Welcoming the Supreme Court verdict, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that the final NEET UG 2024 results would be declared within two days. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud stated that there was no evidence of a "systemic breach" compromising the sanctity of the NEET UG 2024 exam.

Around 23.33 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET UG 2024 exam held on May 5. Since 2019, the NTA has been responsible for administering the medical entrance exam for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private medical colleges across India.

The NEET controversy initially arose from rumors of a paper leak, with the NTA facing criticism over the conduct of the exam, the awarding of grace marks, and other irregularities. The number of toppers dropped to 61 after the NTA removed compensatory marks awarded for the loss of time. A re-test was conducted for 1,563 candidates who received grace marks, but only 813 candidates participated.

With the Supreme Court's directive to revise the results based on the correct answer suggested by IIT Delhi, the number of NEET UG toppers is expected to drop further. Assuming all 44 candidates who benefited from the incorrect answer lose their top positions, the total number of NEET UG toppers 2024 will reduce from 61 to 17.

The revised NEET UG merit list 2024 will soon be displayed on the NTA official website, exams.nta.ac.in/NEET.