HC orders NEET-UG retest for candidates affected by power outages

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct a re-examination of the NEET-UG for candidates who were adversely affected by power cuts at their exam centers. The court emphasized that these candidates were placed at an unfair disadvantage through no fault of their own, delivering a significant ruling that could impact numerous aspirants.

Justice Subodh Abhyankar of the High Court's Indore bench reserved his decision last month after thoroughly hearing arguments from all concerned parties involved in petitions filed by several NEET-UG candidates. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for admission to undergraduate medical courses was held on May 4, a day when parts of Madhya Pradesh experienced widespread power outages due to inclement weather.

Citing Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which upholds the principle of equality and justice for all citizens, the High Court granted relief to the petitioners. Mridul Bhatnagar, the petitioners' lawyer, confirmed on Tuesday that the court's order, issued on June 23, will benefit 75 affected candidates who appeared for NEET-UG amidst power cuts at examination centers in both Indore and Ujjain.

The court's order explicitly stated that these candidates were disadvantaged by the power outage, a situation that did not prevail universally in other examination centers or even within the same centers where some students enjoyed favorable conditions with sufficient natural light. "Without any fault on their part, candidates were put into a disadvantageous position due to a power outage, which did not prevail in the other examination centre or even in the same centre where some students were sitting in favourable spots with sufficient natural light," the order read.

The petitioners had consistently argued that the power outage amid bad weather on May 4 significantly hampered their performance in the critical entrance examination, thus warranting an opportunity to retake the test.

Responding on behalf of the NTA, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta presented a committee report asserting that alternative arrangements for power supply, such as candles, emergency lights, power backup, and inverters, had been made in most examination centers. He also submitted that power supply was restored immediately after complaints were lodged with the power distribution company. However, these arguments did not sway the court's decision regarding the affected candidates.

The court has directed the NTA to conduct the re-examination as expeditiously as possible for the identified affected candidates and to declare their results promptly. It was made unequivocally clear that the petitioners' rank for admission should be determined solely based on their scores in this retest. However, the order also stipulated that "those persons who have filed the petition after the declaration of provisional answer key i.e., June 3, 2025, shall not be entitled to get any benefit of this order," setting a clear cutoff for eligibility.

This ruling sets a crucial precedent regarding fairness and equal opportunity in high-stakes examinations, particularly when external unforeseen circumstances affect test-takers.