NEET UG 2025 Retest Ordered by MP High Court

MP High Court Orders NEET UG 2025 Retest for Power Outage-Affected Students in Indore, Ujjain

New Delhi, July 1, 2025 – In a major decision reinforcing exam fairness, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct a retest of NEET UG 2025 for candidates who faced power outages during the exam held on May 4, 2025, at centres in Indore and Ujjain.

The relief is restricted to those students who had filed petitions before June 3, 2025, seeking legal intervention due to the disruptions. The order was passed by Justice Subodh Abhyankar of the Indore bench, who emphasized that no candidate should be penalized for infrastructure failures that were beyond their control.

What Led to the Court Order?

Multiple exam centres in Indore (18 centres) and Ujjain (6 centres) reported power cuts ranging from 40 minutes to over an hour during the NEET UG 2025 exam. Petitioners told the court they had to complete parts of their exam under torchlight or in low-light conditions, leading to increased stress and loss of time.

In a rare courtroom demonstration, Justice Abhyankar recreated a dim-light setting to understand the situation better. He noted that while courtrooms typically have natural light sources, many exam halls lacked such provisions, making electricity critical for visibility and performance.

NTA’s Stand and Court’s Rebuttal

The NTA had earlier presented data suggesting that students from the affected centres attempted a comparable number of questions and that some even scored above 600 marks. Specifically, 11 students from Indore centres crossed the 600-mark threshold.

However, the court rejected this data-driven defence, stating that mere performance statistics cannot eliminate the psychological and physical disadvantage faced by students. The judge acknowledged the trauma caused by such unpredictable exam conditions and ruled in favour of a re-examination to ensure equity.

Legal Timeline and Previous Court Actions

• On May 15, the High Court had stayed the declaration of results for students from 11 affected centres in Indore.
• The court later allowed the NTA to release results for all other NEET UG 2025 candidates.
• Now, with this fresh ruling, the results and counselling for the petitioners will depend on their retest performance.

It is important to note that this court-ordered relief applies only to those candidates who approached the court before June 3. Students who filed petitions after that date are not covered under this judgment.

What Happens Next?

The NTA has been instructed to:

• Organize a fresh exam for the affected petitioners.
• Ensure proper exam infrastructure, including backup power, at all designated retest centres.
• Update the petitioners and stakeholders about new exam dates and logistics in due course.

The final result and eligibility for counselling of these students will depend solely on their retest scores, not on the earlier disrupted attempt.

Impact and Significance

This decision is being seen as a landmark moment in how exam-related grievances are handled in India. Legal experts believe the verdict could serve as a template for future cases involving exam irregularities, infrastructural failures, and candidate rights.

Given the heightened scrutiny around NEET UG 2025 – including alleged scams and technical errors – the ruling is expected to push examination authorities toward better preparedness and accountability.