Madras High Court Rejects Plea for NEET UG 2025 Re-Exam, Cites No Major Disruption

The Madras High Court upheld NTA’s decision not to reconduct NEET-UG 2025 for students affected by power cuts during the May 4 exam. It cited minimal disruption, CCTV proof, and expert analysis confirming no performance impact. Re-exam, the court ruled, would unfairly affect over 22 lakh candidates who took the test.

The Madras High Court has dismissed a plea seeking the re-conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2025 for students who appeared at examination centres affected by power cuts due to heavy rainfall on May 4. A Division Bench comprising Justices J. Nisha Banu and M. Jothiraman upheld an earlier ruling by Justice C. Kumarappan, who had on June 6 refused to order a re-examination.

The appeal was filed by a group of candidates who claimed that the power disruption during the examination created unfair conditions, putting them at a disadvantage compared to those who wrote the test under normal circumstances. The students argued that the absence of electricity led to a complete breakdown of examination conditions at some centres, and they had been denied an equal opportunity.

However, Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan, appearing for the Centre, countered these claims by submitting CCTV footage from the affected centres. He pointed out that the examination halls had large glass windows that allowed ample natural light, and thus the impact of the power outage was minimal. He further stated that many candidates at those centres performed well despite the weather conditions, with one answering 179 out of 180 questions and others answering more than 140 questions, showing that their performance was not hampered.

Sundaresan also informed the court that the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG, had formed an independent expert committee to assess the situation. The committee conducted field visits and statistical analysis of the candidates' performance at the affected centres. After a detailed review, the committee found no significant difference in the performance of students affected by the outage compared to others and concluded that a re-exam was not warranted.

The High Court accepted the committee's findings and ruled that the judiciary should not interfere with the well-considered decision of the NTA unless it is proven to be arbitrary or unlawful. The Bench emphasised the need to maintain the integrity of large-scale competitive exams and noted that ordering a re-exam for a small group would disturb the entire merit list and affect over 22 lakh candidates who took the test.

In its detailed judgment, the court stated, “It is crucial to uphold the integrity of educational assessments. This court cannot overturn the NTA’s decision, which was made after thorough field verification and an expert committee analysis, unless there is evidence of serious flaws or injustice.”

With this, the court ruled that the appeal had no merit and should be dismissed, thereby affirming that the NEET-UG 2025 results will remain unchanged for all candidates, including those who appeared at centres affected by the May 4 rain and power outage.