In a significant ruling, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to re-conduct the NEET UG 2025 exam for students who faced disruptions due to a power outage on the exam day, May 4.
Who Will Be Eligible for the NEET UG 2025 Re-Test?
Only those students who filed write petitions before June 3, 2025 the date when the provisional answer key was released will be eligible for the re-test.
Students who approached the court after the NEET UG result declaration are not eligible.
What Went Wrong During the NEET Exam?
Over 100 students from Indore and Ujjain submitted petitions claiming that a thunderstorm caused a power failure at several NEET-UG centres.
They said they were forced to take the exam in poor lighting conditions, without backup electricity, which negatively impacted their performance and mental focus.
What Did the Court Say?
Justice Subodh Abhyankar, who issued the verdict, observed that even a 10-minute disruption during the three-hour NEET exam can disturb a student’s concentration and mental balance. The court ruled this situation violates the Right to Equality under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
Although the NTA claimed that emergency lighting or daylight was available, the court disagreed, highlighting the psychological impact of poor lighting.
Importantly, the NTA also failed to provide CCTV footage from the affected centres, which is mandatory under examination rules.
Key Evidence Considered by the Court:
- Video recordings from exam centres
- Media reports confirming disruptions
- A public statement from the Indore Collector acknowledging weather-related problems
These pieces of evidence supported the students’ complaints.
Court’s Response to NTA’s Argument
The NTA argued that conducting a re-test would be unfair to other students and logistically challenging.
However, the court rejected this argument, emphasizing that the NTA possesses sufficient resources and infrastructure to conduct a fair re-test that maintains the same level of difficulty for all candidates.
What Happens Next?
- The NTA will soon conduct a re-test for the eligible students.
- These students’ NEET ranks will be based only on their re-test performance.
- The ongoing NEET UG 2025 counselling process will continue as scheduled, but the final admissions will be subject to the outcome of the re-test.
Read Also: NIMCET Counselling 2025 Registration starts Today at nimcet.admissions.nic.in
Read Also: MCC will begin NEET UG Counselling from May 1: Latest Notification Out
