NEET-UG 2024 Controversy: Grace Marks Cancelled, Re-test on June 23 for 1,563 Candidates

New Delhi: The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that the decision to award grace marks to 1,563 NEET-UG 2024 candidates for MBBS, BDS, and other courses has been rescinded. These candidates will now have the option to retake the exam on June 23. The decision comes amidst allegations of question paper leaks and concerns over the fairness of the grading process.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta also clarified that the ongoing counselling process for admissions will not be halted. Candidates who opt out of the retest will have their original scores, minus the grace marks, considered for their results.

The re-test results will be published on June 30, and counselling for MBBS, BDS, and other courses will commence on July 6, according to the Centre’s statement.

The bench noted the submissions and scheduled a hearing for all related pleas, including one by Alakh Pandey, CEO of EdTech firm Physics Wallah, on July 8. The pleas include petitions seeking the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 due to alleged question paper leaks and other malpractices.

The NEET-UG exam, conducted by the NTA on May 5 across 4,750 centres, saw participation from around 24 lakh candidates. The results, initially expected on June 14, were announced early on June 4 due to early completion of answer sheet evaluations.

Allegations of question paper leaks and the award of grace marks to 1,563 candidates have sparked protests and multiple legal cases. Notably, 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720, an unprecedented occurrence, with six from a centre in Haryana, raising concerns about potential irregularities.