Delhi High Court Examines Plea Challenging Grace Marks in NEET UG 2024

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In a recent development before the Delhi High Court, a plea has been filed challenging the decision of the National Testing Agency (NTA) to grant grace marks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET-UG) exams for medical college admissions. The plea, brought forward by a 17-year-old student named Shreyansi Thakur, contests the NTA’s decision to award grace marks, citing it as arbitrary and affecting thousands of students. The High Court, under the vacation Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, heard the matter and granted the NTA’s counsel some time to obtain instructions on the issue.

The core argument of the petitioner revolves around the observation that in Question No. 29 of Test Booklet Code R5, both options 2 and 4 were considered correct, contrary to the exam instructions. This discrepancy led the NTA to award marks to all students who chose either of the alleged correct answers. This move was seen as unfair by the petitioner, as it discriminated against candidates who followed the instructions and did not mark an answer for Question No. 29 due to the presence of two correct options.

Furthermore, the plea highlights the arbitrary and unfair nature of the grace marks granted by the NTA, which resulted in a large number of students obtaining perfect scores of 720 out of 720 in the NEET-UG 2024 exams. This contentious issue has attracted attention not only in the Delhi High Court but also in the Calcutta High Court, where a PIL petition has been filed, alleging irregularities in the conduct of the exam.

The plea seeks corrective action from the NTA, urging for a fair evaluation of all candidates and a re-examination of the NEET-UG 2024 results. As the case unfolds, it sheds light on the nuances of competitive examinations and the impact of such decisions on the academic futures of aspiring students. Stay tuned for further updates on this significant legal battle.