For NEET-UG aspirants, May 4, 2025, was supposed to be a decisive day.
Instead, it turned out to be a nightmare!
They were inside the exam hall, ready to write one of the most important exams of their lives…but then came the blackout.
Let me take you back to May 4, 2025.
It was the NEET-UG exam day. But in centres like the one in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, power outages disrupted the exam.
Students claim that the blackout lasted over 30 minutes, delaying the distribution of the question paper and eating into their allotted time.
Their demand? A re-exam. Or at least, a fair remedy.
And now, here is where things stand!
A single-judge order had earlier directed a re-examination for the affected students.
But NTA challenged this ruling – and now, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has reserved its judgment.
A division bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi heard the matter for nearly two hours on July 10 and is expected to deliver a verdict by Monday.
Advocate Mradul Bhatnagar, representing the students, told EdexLive, “The court acknowledged the hardship, but it’s still unclear if a re-test will be ordered” Unquote
During the hearing, the bench made a strong remark, referring to the Ahmedabad plane crash. It said,
"Only one plane crashed, but thousands fly every day."
An analogy that drew concern but also highlighted the judiciary’s caution in setting a precedent.
NTA, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, argued that an independent committee, including IIT Delhi professors, found no significant performance gap between affected and unaffected centres.
Senior Advocate Aditya Sanghi speaking to EdexLive said, and I quote, “We are in 2025, and selected centres had no power backup? Why was candlelight provided? It speaks for itself that it was completely dark” – unquote.
The NTA admitted that no CCTV footage could be retrieved because the cameras, too, were down during the blackout.
Still, Mehta insisted; “Only 75 students came forward. Why should lakhs be affected?”
Now that the chances of a retest appear bleak, is that the end of the story? Probably not! The court did suggest alternate remedies.
“Maybe not a re-exam,” the bench said, “but NTA must compensate students with grace marks or otherwise.”
Another case to note. On July 7, the Rajasthan High Court dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by NEET-UG 2025 candidates from Sirkar District who were seeking re-exam or compensatory marks due to alleged power outages and related disruptions during their NEET UG exam on May 4.
So, what happens now?
Will the students get a fair remedy? Or will the system overlook a genuine disruption once again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
