The Madhya Pradesh High Court temporarily stayed a single bench order directing the NTA to re-conduct NEET-UG for 75 students who complained about power cuts at exam centres in Indore and Ujjain.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has temporarily stayed a previous order from a single Bench that instructed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to re-conduct the NEET-UG exam for 75 candidates.
These candidates had approached the court citing power outages at various centers in Indore and one in Ujjain.
The NTA contested the single Bench ruling, leading Justices Vivek Rusia and Binod Kumar Dwivedi to stay the order for a re-examination. Mridul Bhatnagar, the attorney representing a girl student who sought a re-test, stated that the stay was granted in response to the NTA’s objection against the re-examination.
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The matter is scheduled for further consideration on July 10.
Initially, Justice Subodh Abhyankar in Indore issued the order directing the NTA to evaluate the petitioners’ ranks based solely on their scores from the re-test.
However, it was specified that only students who filed petitions before the release of the provisional answer key on June 3 would qualify for the re-test.
Justice Abhyankar noted in the order, which was reserved on June 23,
“This Court is of the considered opinion that the petitioner/s has/have made out a case for interference under Article 14, as her/they, without there being any fault on their part, was/were put into a disadvantageous position due to a power outage, which condition did not prevail in the other examination centre or even in the same centre where some of the students were sitting at favourable spots having sufficient natural light,”
The order added,
“Accordingly, the petition stands allowed, and it is directed to the National Testing Agency to conduct the examination as expeditiously as possible and declare the results,”
The NEET for undergraduate medical courses took place on May 4, following which an Indore-based girl filed a petition claiming her performance was affected by the power outage and citing mismanagement at her center. On May 4, power disruptions occurred in various regions of Indore due to adverse weather conditions.
During the hearings, the NTA opposed the petitioners’ request for a re-test, referencing an expert committee’s report that audited the relevant centers in Indore.
However, the court stated that the report could not be accepted at face value as it “did not take into account the human emotions prevailing at the time.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the NTA virtually, argued that the report showed no disruption of exams due to power failures.
The committee, led by the Indore Collector and including senior officials like the city Police Commissioner, conducted inspections at many centers.
The report indicated,
“In most of the centres, alternative arrangements for the supply of electricity were made, and no sooner was a complaint made to the electricity company electricity was restored, and in various centres, certain alternative arrangements like candles, emergency lights, power backup, inverters etc., were also provided.”
Despite this, the court remarked that the report “takes into consideration only the data that has been obtained from various centres, but, is sans the adverse weather conditions that prevailed on the said date, leading to power disruption and the resultant adverse effect on the performance of the petitioner.”
The court emphasized that,
“Such a report, which does not take into account the human emotions prevailing at that time, cannot be blindly accepted at its face value. It must be remembered that the exam was only three hours in duration, in which, even for ten minutes, if a student faces a difficulty in reading and writing due to a power outage, the same has the effect of rattling one’s mental condition and is sufficient to disturb his or her composure and focus for the remaining time.”
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During the proceedings, the court even switched off the lights in the courtroom to demonstrate how reduced lighting could affect concentration and focus.
The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, on June 30, has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to re-conduct the NEET-UG 2025 examination for around 75 students.
These students had faced serious issues during the original exam held on May 4, 2025, due to power cuts at various exam centres in Indore and Ujjain.
Case Title: Ankita Bharti & Ors. v. National Testing Agency & Ors., WP No. 12386/2025 (Indore Bench, Madhya Pradesh High Court)