The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) afresh for two medical aspirants.
Vaishnavi Bhopale and Abhishek Kapse from Solapur district as they had received mismatching test booklets and answer sheets for the NEET exam on 12 September due to inadvertence of the invigilators.
The petitioners told the court that NEET candidates are given a question paper and answer booklet (sheet) bearing the same code and same seven-digit serial number.
But due to a mix-up by invigilators, some students including the petitioners received question papers and answer booklets bearing different codes and serial numbers, they said.
The division bench of justice RD Dhanuka and justice Abhay Ahuja directed NTA to give the aspirants an advance notice of 48 hours about the date of the retest and the exam centre and to declare the petitioners results in two weeks.
Students said both were given test booklets and answer sheets that didn’t match for NEET exam
Vaishnavi got a test booklet of CODE 04 and OMR booklet of CODE P4, whereas Abhishek got a test booklet of CODE P4 and OMR booklet of CODE 04.
The petitioners said they tried to reason out with the authorities concerned but they did not take any corrective steps.
Advocate Thorat told a bench of Justices R D Dhanuka and Abhay Ahuja that though the petitioners immediately pointed out the mix-up, the invigilators threatened to report them for “causing a disturbance in the examination hall and committing unfair practice.”
Advocate Rui Rodrigues, who appeared for the NTA, said it was “not possible” for the exam authority to allow the petitioners to reappear for the exam. The judges, however, held that the petitioners “shall not suffer because of the mistake on the part of respondents.”
Thorat pointed out that clause 7 of NEET’s Test Booklet Code mandates the invigilator to rectify the mistake and provide the correct Test Booklet and OMR Sheet to the student concerned in such a situation.
Adding that the school later acknowledged the goof-up in its communication with the NTA officers and asked the testing agency to help the two students.