Supreme Court refuses to stay NEET UG 2025 counselling despite power cut complaints. Petition for re-exam from MP students to be heard on July 25.
New Delhi: Today, on July 23, the Supreme Court of India on dismissed a plea seeking a ban on NEET UG 2025 counselling. The top court refused to put the counselling process on hold, even though some students from Madhya Pradesh filed petitions complaining about power cuts during their examination and sought a re-examination.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar heard the matter and made it clear that no interim relief would be granted regarding the counselling process.
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The case also brings into focus the increasing role of technological and infrastructural challenges in high-stakes national exams like NEET-UG.
While the National Testing Agency (NTA) argued that power outages did not significantly hinder the test due to “natural light,” the petitioners contend that even brief interruptions during a competitive exam could unfairly impact performance in a highly time-bound environment.
Moreover, the matter raises an important constitutional question of equal opportunity under Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, as students in affected centres might not have had a level playing field compared to others.
The upcoming Supreme Court hearing could potentially lay down guidelines for future exam conduct and contingency protocols in case of such disruptions.
Additionally, the Court’s refusal to grant provisional counselling access highlights the importance it places on procedural integrity, suggesting that reliefs—even in sympathetic cases—cannot come at the cost of impacting “lakhs of other students” who took the exam without incident.
The students had earlier approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which on July 14, denied their request for a re-exam. Now, they have come to the Supreme Court challenging that decision.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court bench scheduled the next hearing for Friday, July 25, to consider the matter regarding the re-examination for those affected by the power failure in Madhya Pradesh.
When one of the petitioners’ lawyers mentioned that the counselling notification has already been released, Justice Narasimha questioned,
“What do you want from us?”
and added,
“What interim order are you expecting?”
Responding to this, a woman counsel appearing for a petitioner said,
“My client has been trying to register for counselling but it is not permitted.”
Another lawyer clarified the main concern, stating that the petitioners were mainly asking for a re-exam due to the technical issues during the test.
The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Central Government, said that he had no objection to the Court considering the re-exam request, but strongly opposed any stay on the counselling.
He told the Court that this would have wide-reaching consequences and said,
“This will affect lakhs of students.”
He further added that around 22 lakh students appeared for NEET UG 2025, and putting a halt on the counselling process would disturb the entire system.
Justice Narasimha addressed the petitioners again, saying,
“You are seeking a stay on counselling? Postponement of counselling? This cannot be done.”
He further clarified,
“As far as you are concerned, with regard to you people, whatever has to be done, we will consider it. But the interim directive cannot be to stay. Thousands of people will be affected.”
He concluded by reassuring the students that their concerns would be looked into and said,
“We will consider it on Friday, we will see what is the best that can be done for you.”
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He added,
“We will list all the cases on Friday.”
With the Supreme Court’s refusal to stall the counselling, the ongoing NEET UG 2025 counselling will continue as scheduled, and the affected students will have to wait for the next hearing to see if the Court permits a re-exam or any relief.
CASE TITLE:
NAVYA NAYAK vs NATIONAL TESTING AGENCY
SLP(C) No. 19807/2025
and
S. SAI PRIYA AND ORS. vs UNION OF INDIA AND ORS
SLP(C) No. 19661/2025
