- By Priyanka Koul
- Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:59 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
NEET UG 2025 Re-Test Row: Supreme Court To Hear Plea Next Week Over Power Cuts During Exam In MPThe Supreme Court is set to hear next week a petition seeking a re-test for NEET-UG 2025 candidates who were affected by power outages at examination centres in Indore and Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The plea challenges the Madhya Pradesh High Court's decision to reject the request for a fresh exam.
On Tuesday, a counsel representing the affected students mentioned the matter before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, seeking urgent listing. While the bench agreed to hear the case next week, it declined to advance the date, noting, "There are several rounds of counselling and the petitioners will have opportunities if they succeed in the case," according to Live Law. The counsel had requested an earlier date, highlighting that NEET counselling is scheduled to begin on July 21.
Background: What Happened?
The controversy stems from the NEET-UG exam held on May 4, during which power outages were reported in some centres in Indore and Ujjain. A single judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court had earlier directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct a re-test for students affected by the outage. The judge noted that these candidates were at a disadvantage “for no fault of theirs”, and ruled that the counselling process would remain subject to the outcome of the re-test.
However, this decision was overturned by a division bench last week. The division bench referred to findings by an expert committee, which stated that although power was disrupted for 10 to 15 minutes in some centres, natural light was sufficient for students to continue the exam. The court also pointed out that only 70 of the 27,264 students who took the exam in Indore had filed petitions.
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On July 12, the High Court formally stayed the re-test order. A lawyer defending the NTA said, “Power supply was disrupted for 10 to 15 minutes in some centres of Indore, but there was sufficient natural sunlight and a committee of experts has come to the conclusion that the disruption in power supply did not affect the performance of the candidates of these centres.”
NEET-UG 2025 was conducted nationwide with nearly 22 lakh candidates appearing, including over 27,000 from 49 centres in Indore alone. As the matter now moves to the Supreme Court, the outcome will determine whether the affected students get another chance to sit the crucial exam.
