Supreme Court examines NTA's response on NEET-UG topper surge
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is currently scrutinizing the significant increase in top scores in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) amidst ongoing allegations of irregularities and a paper leak.
This year, 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720/720 in the NEET-UG, a record that drew suspicion, particularly as six of these students hailed from the same examination center in Jhajjar, Haryana.
However, a subsequent retest on May 23 saw the number of perfect scores drop to 61.
In its affidavit to the Supreme Court, the National Testing Agency (NTA) addressed these concerns. The agency clarified that the six students from the Jhajjar center initially received full marks due to grace marks awarded for lost time during the exam. These students did not achieve perfect scores in the retest.
The NTA further explained that of the 61 students who retained perfect scores, 17 achieved this based on the provisional answer keys, while the remaining 44 scored full marks after a revision in the answer key for a Physics question. This revision was done because of discrepancies between old and new editions of the NCERT textbook, leading experts to accept two correct answers for one question.
The agency said that only 17 students achieved a perfect score without any key revisions, a figure not significantly higher than previous years. These 17 students were spread across 16 centers in 15 cities, and the 61 students were distributed across 58 centers in 41 cities nationwide.
The NTA also countered the petitioner's claim that high scores were concentrated in certain centers, citing an analysis showing the top 100 candidates were spread across 95 centers in 56 cities across 18 states and union territories.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
