The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea challenging the denial of a re-examination for NEET-UG 2025 candidates who were affected by a power outage at several centres in Madhya Pradesh.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi scheduled the hearing for next week, taking note of the petitioners’ urgency due to the upcoming counselling process, which is set to begin on July 21. The bench observed that as there are multiple rounds of counselling, students may still participate if they succeed in their plea.
The petitioners, who appeared for NEET-UG 2025 at centres in Indore and Ujjain, contend that they faced significant disruption during the examination due to electricity failure, which impacted their performance. They are challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s division bench order that overturned a directive for a retest issued by a single judge.
The single judge had previously directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct a fresh exam for candidates affected by the outage. However, on an appeal by the NTA, the division bench quashed this order, relying on an expert committee report which concluded that although power outages occurred, there was sufficient natural light for candidates to continue writing the test.
While setting aside the order for a retest, the division bench had also cautioned the NTA to ensure such disruptions are not repeated in the future.
The Supreme Court will now decide whether the affected candidates are entitled to another opportunity to sit for the prestigious medical entrance examination.
