NEET UG Row: Grace Marks Cancelled for 1,563 Students, NTA Promises Re-Test on June 23

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Supreme Court of India on Thursday, June 13, that a decision has been taken to cancel the scorecards of 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates who were given grace marks. The Centre further offered that these students will be given an option to take a re-test on June 23. The results of these re-tests will be declared on June 30, and counselling for admission in MBBS, BDS, and other courses to start on July 6, it added.

"The Committee has taken a decision to cancel the scorecards of 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates who were given grace marks and these students will be given the option to take a re-test, SC informed. Exams will be conducted on June 23 and results will be declared before June 30," (National Testing Agency) NTA told the apex court.

However, out of the 1,563, students who do not wish to take up the retest then their earlier marks, sans the grace marks, will be given for the results.

Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruled that it would not stay the counselling process.

"Counselling will go on and we will not stop it. If the exam goes then everything goes in totality so nothing to fear," the Supreme Court said.

The Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on the vacation bench were hearing the case. The bench taking note of the submissions, said that all the pleas, including the one filed by Alakh Pandey, the chief executive of Physics Wallah over the issue of the grace marks, have now been scheduled for July 8.

The petition filed in the top court also included seeking cancellation of NEET-UG, 2024 on account of allegation of question paper leaks and other malpractices.

This comes as over 1,500 medical aspirants have led to protests and filed cases in seven high courts after allegations such as question paper leak and grant of grace marks created an uproar. It has been alleged that grace marks contributed to 67 students sharing the top rank.

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

(With PTI inputs)