A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that denied a re-test for NEET-UG candidates who were allegedly forced to write their exam in near darkness due to prolonged power outages at centres in Ujjain and Indore.
The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant and also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, which directed that the plea be listed for hearing next week.
The petition stems from a Division Bench ruling of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that overturned an earlier order by a Single Judge directing the National Testing Agency (NTA) to hold a fresh examination for the affected candidates.
According to the petitioners, several exam centres experienced 1–2 hour-long power failures caused by severe thunderstorms on the day of the NEET exam.
They allege that no backup power or adequate lighting was arranged, compelling students to complete the test in near-total darkness without any compensatory time.
In support of their claims, the petitioners submitted media reports, video footage, and a statement by the Indore District Collector acknowledging the power disruption—evidence that was also placed before the High Court.
Justice Subodh Abhyankar, the Single Judge, had observed that the disruption, which was admitted by the NTA, violated Article 14 of the Constitution by placing affected students at an unfair disadvantage.
He directed the NTA to conduct a re-examination at the earliest, stating that the petitioners’ ranks would be based solely on their re-test scores.
However, the NTA challenged this ruling, and the Division Bench set aside the re-test order. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the NTA, informed the High Court that an expert committee had reviewed the matter and found no significant deviation in average scores between the affected centres and others.
Relying on the expert panel’s findings, the Division Bench allowed the NTA’s appeal, prompting the aggrieved students to now approach the Supreme Court for relief.