Six NEET candidates have approached the Supreme Court alleging discrepancies between the answers they marked in their original OMR sheets and those reflected in the scanned OMR copies uploaded by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The students claim the alleged mismatch could affect their admission prospects as the NEET counselling process is already underway.
The matter was mentioned before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohan.
The petitioners sought an urgent hearing, arguing that the issue concerns only six students and counselling is in progress. Responding to the request, CJI Surya Kant said, “We will list it.”
Petitioners claim scores above 600 marks
Counsel for the students told the Court that all six candidates had secured more than 600–650 marks in NEET and that the alleged discrepancies in their OMR sheets could significantly impact their chances of securing admission.
The petitioners said they repeatedly contacted the NTA through emails and also visited its office, but their grievances were not addressed. According to the counsel, an NTA official allegedly told them, “Go to the Supreme Court. We don’t bother about this.”
Case comes amid NEET reform debate
The plea comes as the Supreme Court is examining structural reforms in the conduct of NEET following the 2026 paper leak controversy. The Court has recently stressed the need for institutional reforms within the NTA rather than relying on ad hoc measures.
The NTA had earlier released scanned copies of candidates’ OMR answer sheets and allowed candidates to raise objections before the results were finalised. Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has issued notice on a petition alleging a mismatch between an expected and declared NEET score, while the Delhi High Court is hearing a plea by a student who claimed his score changed multiple times on the NTA portal.
