The Supreme Court of India recently refused to entertain a petition from six NEET candidates who alleged inconsistencies in their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) answer sheets. The students claimed that the answers they marked during the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) differed from those displayed on the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) official website.
A bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe clarified that the Supreme Court’s current focus is on broader institutional issues regarding the NTA, rather than individual complaints. The bench suggested that such personal grievances should be directed to the Delhi High Court for resolution. “We are examining the institutionalization of NTA and the mechanisms to strengthen it. Individual issues, like yours, are best addressed at the High Court level,” remarked the bench.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that they should be allowed access to their original OMR sheets to verify their scores, especially as the counseling process is already underway. Despite this plea, the Supreme Court reiterated its stance, advising the candidates to seek recourse at the Delhi High Court.
The six candidates, who scored between 600 and 650 in the NEET exams, believe that the discrepancies in their OMR sheets could severely impact their chances of gaining admission to medical colleges. The NTA had previously provided candidates with scanned copies of their OMR sheets and an opportunity to challenge any discrepancies before the final results were published.
In a related development, the Bombay High Court has issued a notice regarding a petition about a mismatch between a candidate’s expected and official NEET scores. Additionally, another student has approached the Delhi High Court, claiming multiple changes in his score on the NTA portal.
