The National Testing Agency (NTA) will soon release the revised merit list for NEET-UG 2024, according to sources within the exam body who spoke to NDTV on Thursday evening. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed the NTA to withdraw compensatory marks awarded to a select group of students for a Physics question.
Initially, the NTA decided to grant extra marks to certain students who answered incorrectly due to a mistake in their old Class 12 NCERT science textbook. However, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that only one correct answer would be accepted, and no marks would be given for other responses.
A student had previously pointed out that "Question No. 29" in the Physics section had two possible correct answers when only one was supposed to be correct.
The Supreme Court instructed the Director of IIT Delhi to assemble a team of three experts and submit a report on the correct answer for the specific Physics question by noon the following day. Based on IIT Delhi's findings, the court later decreed, "For the Physics question on atomic theory, marks will be awarded for only one answer, which is option No. 4."
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had earlier announced that the final results for NEET-UG 2024 would be declared within two days based on the Supreme Court's observations.
The court ruled that only one correct answer out of the four options would be considered valid. As a result, students who had initially scored a perfect 720 out of 720 will lose four marks.
The court also dismissed several petitions seeking the cancellation and retest of the NEET-UG 2024 exam. Chief Justice Chandrachud noted that there was no evidence of systemic leaks or other malpractices associated with the exam.
The NTA has been at the center of political controversy and protests from students over alleged large-scale malpractices, including question paper leaks and impersonation during the test held on May 5.
The NEET-UG 2024 results, announced on June 4, made headlines when a total of 67 students scored a perfect 720 out of 720. The exam saw participation from 1,331,321 female candidates, 996,393 male candidates, and 17 transgender candidates.
