SC refuses to interfere with NEET 2019

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 14

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The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea seeking quashing of the answer keys of some questions in the NEET(UG)-2019 Examination, saying an expert body had duly applied its mind and revised answers were issued.

A Vacation Bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi said courts were not experts in every subject and that it was time to stop interfering in this area. 

Allowing the petitioners—four Hyderabad-based students— to withdraw their petition, it granted them liberty to approach the high court for redressal of their grievances.

The top court had on Thursday agreed to hear the petition, which claimed the answer key of five questions asked in NEET(UG)-2019 examination was wrong and the paper needed to be quashed.

The petition filed by four Hyderabad-based students—Kayathi Mohan Reddy and three others—said National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the examination, issued wrong answer keys, jeopardising career prospects of the aspirants who sat for the exam.

The examination was conducted on May 5 and the official answer key was issued on May 29.

On behalf of the petitioners, senior counsel AM Singhvi said in NTA’s answer key, five questions of four marks each had more than one correct answer or had an answer that was different from answer key, he pointed out.

"All multiple choice answers cannot be scrutinized by this court. We are not experts. We think somewhere some line needs to be drawn," the bench said, adding interfering with the answer key would mean that Supreme Court had become an appellate body above the NTA.

The Bench said that after the answer keys were issued to the questions asked in the May 5 examination, several students had made representation about the correct answers and subsequently revised answer key were issued.

"We see, an expert body has applied its mind and revised answer key was issued. In some cases, the answers were corrected. There does not seem to be a case of mala fide intent," it said.