Supreme Court Backs NTA’s Correct Answer For NEET

The Supreme Court has affirmed the National Testing Agency's correct answer to a question in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG exam, following a report by an IIT Delhi panel of experts.

A Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, is hearing petitions for a re-test of NEET-UG due to question paper leaks and malpractices, where petitioners challenged an ambiguous exam question.

The petitioner argued that option 4 was the correct answer according to the updated NCERT edition, while students who chose option 2 received grace marks as it was correct in previous editions. A panel of experts examined the question and submitted a report to the Supreme Court.

“The committee has made it clear that only option 4 is correct. Therefore, the NTA's answer key, which lists option 4, is accurate,” Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, said.

The SG informed the court that the incorrect answer in the old text book persisted until 2021.

The Supreme Court concluded, “We should not be constrained by different textbook editions. Our focus should be on identifying the correct answer. Even if the most recent NCERT edition had the wrong answer, a student who studied thoroughly and provided the correct answer deserves recognition. Ultimately, IIT is the authority in determining the correct answer.”