SC Asks Petitioners Challenging NEET(UG) Answer Key To Approach High Court; Another Petition Listed In Delhi HC On Monday

Refusing to entertain a petition filed challenging the NEET(UG)- 2019 answer key, the vacation bench of the Supreme Court said that it was appropriate that the petitioners approach the High Court for relief.

The bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Surya Kant permitted the petitioners to withdraw the petition with liberty to avail alternate remedies.

This was after the bench was informed that another petition filed by a group of students from Kolkata in Delhi High Court was listed on Monday.

Earlier, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, senior counsel appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the answer key published by the National Testing Agency for the NEET exam held on May 5 had several errors. He said the five questions having four marks each had more than one correct answers or had an answer which was different from answer key issued by the NTA.

Dr. Singhvi said that students career will be affected if the answers key were not corrected and suggested that an expert body should be constituted which shall look into the correct answer keys as the counselling is yet to start from June 19. 

Not persuaded by the submission, the bench said in response that the NTA had revised the answer key based on representations from students, and hence there seemed to be no 'mala-fide'.

"All multiple choice answers cannot be scrutinized by the this court. We are not experts. We think somewhere some line needs to be drawn," the bench said.

At this juncture, one counsel stood up to inform the Court that he was representing the group of Kolkata students, whose petition is listed for consideration before Delhi High Court on Monday. Taking note of this, the bench suggested Dr. Singhvi that they approach the High Court.

The petition filed in Delhi High Court by six Kolkata students through Corporate Legal Partners states that three questions had more than one correct answer, even after the key was revised by NTA. They dispute the correctness of answer given for question number 1 in the revised answer key published on June 5. According to them, the answer in the earlier answer key released on May 29 reflected the correct option for question number 1.

Further the question No. 13, 68 and 155 are reflecting two right options, the petition filed in Delhi High Court states.

"In such a tough competition every mark would have a critical bearing on the rank of the candidate and thus would effect his or her choice of college and admission. The very object of conducting the test would stand defeated, in case a wrong answer key is hand to be sacrosanct and beyond judicial review", said the petition filed by Purbasha Das, Manisha Bose, Sanghamitra Singh Roy, Sayantan Sardar, Shreyosi Banerjee and Anushka Ghosh.