Key facts
- SC refused urgent hearing on plea to defer NEET-UG retest
- Retest scheduled for June 21 will proceed as planned
- Plea sought deferral amid ongoing NEET paper leak controversy
- NTA conducting retest for candidates flagged in original exam
The Supreme Court of India on Thursday refused to grant an urgent hearing to a petition seeking postponement of the NEET-UG retest scheduled for June 21, effectively allowing the examination to proceed as currently planned by the National Testing Agency.
The refusal is a significant procedural development in the protracted NEET-UG controversy. The examination, India's single gateway to undergraduate medical admissions, was engulfed in a paper leak and malpractice scandal that triggered nationwide protests, parliamentary debates, and multiple court petitions. A retest was ordered for candidates whose results were flagged as suspicious or who had benefited from grace marks awarded in an opaque manner.
Petitioners had sought an urgent deferral, likely citing concerns about the adequacy of safeguards for the retest or procedural issues with the list of candidates called to appear. By declining to hear the matter urgently, the Supreme Court has signalled that it does not see sufficient grounds to halt or delay the process at this stage.
The NTA and the government now remain on course to conduct the June 21 retest. Medical aspirants across the country are watching closely, as the results of both the original examination and the retest will determine admissions to MBBS and BDS seats at government and private medical colleges nationwide. Further hearings on the broader NEET paper leak matter are expected to continue separately at the Supreme Court.