NEET grace mark controversy; score cards of 1563 candidates to be cancelled; re-exam on June 23

NEW DELHI: In the NEET UG irregularity controversy, the Union government has informed the Supreme Court that it will cancel the results of those who got grace marks. 1563 candidates got grace marks in the NEET 2024 exam. In the statement submitted to the Supreme Court, the Centre has clarified that they will be given the option of retest.

The Centre also informed the court of the steps taken to conduct the re-examination. The committee met on June 10, 11 and 12 to investigate the Grace Mark allegations. As per the instructions of the committee, the scorecards of the accused will be cancelled. The Supreme Court accepted the NTA's recommendation to conduct a retest. The exam will be conducted on the 23rd of this month and the result will be declared on the 30th.

A four-member committee chaired by the former chairman of UPSE examined the possibility of re-examination for 1563 candidates who got grace marks. The Supreme Court had observed yesterday that the NEET UG irregularity controversy had affected the sanctity of the examination. "It is not that simple that because you have done it is sacrosanct. Sanctity has been affected, so we need answers," said the order from the vacation bench comprising Justices Vikramnath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. The court was observing a group of petitions filed requesting that the examination be cancelled and re-conducted due to the leak of the question paper.

A group of petitions demanding that the exam be cancelled and re-conducted due to question paper leaks were considered. The petitions had come even before the exam results were declared. When the results came out, the Grace marks controversy also surfaced. Petitions were filed by people and organisations including MSF. It was alleged in the petitions that the grace marks were awarded without following any criteria. Officials explained that grace marks were given in six centres due to a delay in issuing OMR sheets.