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New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct a re-test for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Undergraduate for candidates in Ujjain and Indore who were affected due to power outage at the exam centres. However, this re-test applies only to candidates who filed the petitions before June 3.
Justice Subodh Abhyankar has passed the order which allows students to appear for the re-test because of the disadvantage. The court also said that the petitioners' rank in the re-test should be considered for admission.
"This court is of the considered opinion that it was not necessary to have the zero visibility to be not able to read or write because even if the classrooms had some light, but not the sufficient enough for them to read and write, their claim cannot be rejected on the face of it," the Court stated in its order.
The MP High Court feels that a disadvantageous position for students due to a power outage, which condition did not prevail in the other examination centre or even in the same centre where some of the students were sitting at favourable spots having sufficient natural light.
What happens if NTA conducts a NEET re-test for Ujjain and Indore students?
The NTA is responsible for conducting the NEET UG 2025 exam and declaring the results. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will conduct the NEET UG counselling for admission to 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) seats. The MP High Court has further clarified that the NEET UG counselling 2025 will begin only after the results of the re-examination are out. Therefore, there will be a delay in the NEET UG counselling, which will affect about 12 lakh candidates who have qualified in NEET UG 2025 and are eagerly waiting for admission to MBBS, BDS and other courses.
The Court order reads, "Since the tentative counselling date is July 1, 2025, it is directed that the counselling shall be subject to the final result of the petitioners in the re-test. It is made clear 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."
The NTA had conducted the NEET UG 2025 exam on May 4 from 2 pm to 5 pm at various centres across the country. Many candidates who appeared from some centres in Indore and Ujjain alleged that there was a significant disruption in electricity, which not only resulted in them writing the exam in darkness but also affected their performance. The examination authority did not give any additional time to the students due to the power outage. Around 200 students filed petitions and approached the court seeking justice.
In response, the NTA said it has made alternative arrangements for natural light like candles, torchlights and others. It also clarified that there was no impact on the performance of candidates from the affected examination centres.
"On analysis of marks obtained by all candidates from affected centres, 11 have scored above 600/720 marks and are considered toppers in NEET (UG) 2025," the NTA said.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has decided to order the NTA to re-conduct the NEET exam after carefully hearing the arguments of both sides.
