The Supreme Court of India on Thursday dismissed a petition filed against the final answer key and results of the NEET-UG 2025 exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The case was heard by a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and R Mahadevan, who refused to intervene in the case, saying that similar petitions have already been dismissed.
"We are not going to interfere in the examination matter. You may be right in principle that there may be multiple correct answers. Nevertheless, interfering with the all-India examination at this stage…" - Justice P.S. Narasimha
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The petition was filed by Shivam Gandhi Raina, challenging the answer given for question number 136, code number 47. Represented by senior advocate R. Balasubramanian, the petitioner claimed that there was an error in the answer given by the NTA, which, if corrected, could increase his score by five marks and potentially improve his all-India rank.
The counsel for the petitioner cited the 2024 NEET-UG case, where the Supreme Court had directed IIT-Delhi to make corrections based on expert inputs. He argued that the issue affects the careers of many students and requested the formation of an expert committee to examine the disputed question.
The bench, however, maintained its stand, making it clear that the court cannot interfere with individual objections related to a national-level competitive exam such as NEET-UG unless there are widespread grievances or systemic issues.
"The Court's intervention in 2024 was due to widespread concerns about anomalies in the examination. That is not the case here." - Justice PS Narasimha
The petitioner had secured AIR 6783 and general category rank 3195, and claimed that correction in the answer could result in a higher rank. The disputed question read:
"The cardiac activities of the heart are controlled by:"
A. Nodal tissue
B. A specialised nerve centre in the medulla oblongata
C. Adrenal medullary hormones
D. Adrenal cortical hormones
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Options:
A, B and D only
A, B and C only
A, B, C and D
A, C and D only
According to the petitioner, option 3 was the correct answer as per the NCERT Class XI Biology textbook.
The petition, filed through advocate-on-record Sriram Parakkat, also sought interim relief by requesting a stay on the counselling process till the resolution of the case. However, the Court rejected all such requests.
Case Title: Shivam Gandhi Raina v. National Testing Agency | WP(C) 620/2025
