It’s official, the Supreme Court has drawn the curtain on a chapter that kept dozens of NEET-UG aspirants and their families awake at night.

Today we talk about how the top court firmly dismissed the plea of students who lost crucial exam time due to a power outage and made it clear: ‘Don’t give unnecessary hopes to the students.’

So what exactly did the bench say? And what happens to those left out? Let’s break it down.

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and AS Chandurkar heard the plea, which challenged a Madhya Pradesh High Court order. That order had refused a re-test for students who faced power cuts lasting over an hour at multiple centres.

The students argued: 180 questions, 180 minutes, we lost over 60 of those precious minutes. How is that fair?

However, the Supreme Court stated that the high court had thoroughly examined this matter, and its findings were not wrong.

‘We cannot pass an order in an individual’s case.’

That’s what the bench said while disposing of the Special Leave Petition on July 25. The counsel for students pleaded that for many, this was the final shot at cracking NEET, a once-a-year exam that decides who wears that doctor’s coat.

But the judges warned: don’t build false hope on shaky ground.

Students pointed out that even the National Testing Agency’s own report admitted to the power failure. But they say it conveniently skipped exact timings or clear impact details.

With no light for nearly an hour at some centres, many students could barely attempt half the paper, while others breezed through in fully lit halls elsewhere.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the NTA, shot down any idea of a re-test, saying, ‘The level of difficulty changes from paper to paper. We can’t conduct the exam again.’

The court agreed, stressing that eligible students will still be allowed to register for counselling but no fresh test, no new chance.

So, is this truly the end of the road for the 75 students who feel a power cut robbed them of their rank? Or is there still a legal or policy fix for such crises in the future?

For now, the Supreme Court’s message is loud and clear: No more false hope.

But for students who gave it their all, this verdict stings. Should power cuts decide your future?

Tell us what you think in the comments below.