In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to revise the merit list for the NEET-UG 2024 examinations, specifically aligning with the response provided by a panel of experts from IIT Delhi regarding a disputed physics question. The decision was made public on Tuesday, July 23.
During the NEET-UG exam, a contentious physics question led to discrepancies in the answer key provided by NTA. Initially, NTA recognized two options as correct, awarding four marks to students who selected either. However, following a detailed assessment by a three-member panel from IIT Delhi’s Department of Physics, it was determined that only one answer is correct. This decision will now cause a significant reshuffling of rankings, affecting over four lakh aspirants who had previously received marks based on the now-discarded option.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, presiding over the bench, dismissed multiple pleas that demanded the cancellation and re-conduction of the exam. The Chief Justice emphasized the absence of any evidence suggesting a systemic breach that compromised the exam’s integrity.
The bench thoroughly reviewed the expert report from IIT Delhi, which clarified that the correct answer to the controversial question is that “atoms are electrically neutral as they contain an equal number of positive and negative charges.” The Supreme Court concurred with this assessment, instructing NTA to adjust the NEET UG results accordingly, recognizing only the fourth option as the correct response.
The issue came to light during intense courtroom discussions, where lawyers representing various candidates argued over the correct responses. Notably, Lawyer Tanvi Dubey, representing a top-ranking candidate who scored a perfect 720, argued that both originally accepted answers should remain valid to preserve her client’s rank. The court, however, rejected this plea, upholding the singular correct answer identified by the IIT panel.
