A fresh layer of uncertainty has emerged for NEET-UG 2025 aspirants in Madhya Pradesh who were hoping for a re-test after suffering power cuts during their exam. On July 1, the Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, comprising Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi, stayed an earlier directive that had ordered a limited re-exam.
This comes after the National Testing Agency (NTA) filed a writ appeal, pointing to the likelihood of multiple appeals — both supporting and contesting relief — being filed on this issue.
As LiveLaw highlighted, the Bench remarked that until these anticipated cases are heard collectively, it would not be feasible for the NTA to move ahead with conducting fresh tests for the specific petitioners. Consequently, the operation of the June 23 order by Justice Subodh Abhyankar has been paused, at least until the next scheduled hearing on July 10.
However, the Division Bench ensured that counselling sessions held on or after July 1 would remain tied to the ultimate decision in this matter. This safeguards the interests of students across the board, pending a conclusive ruling.
The controversy began when several candidates from Indore and Ujjain approached the court, arguing that electricity outages during their NEET-UG exam left them at a disadvantage through no fault of their own.
In a striking move to understand their plight, Justice Abhyankar had switched off the lights in his courtroom during a hearing. Observing that even the courtroom’s large windows only permitted dim natural light, the court inferred that exam centres, which might lack such windows, could have been even darker, severely affecting candidates.
As LiveLaw reported, Justice Abhyankar had ruled that these students deserved relief under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, having been subjected to unequal conditions purely by circumstance. With the Division Bench’s stay, the final outcome now hinges on arguments set to unfold later this month.