Amid the ongoing controversy over the NEET-UG exam, the Center on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it has canceled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who appeared for the exam for admission to MBBS and other similar courses.

NTA to Notify Affected Candidates

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will send an email to the 1,563 affected candidates, offering them the option to either retake the exam or to give up the grace marks that were provided to compensate for lost time. The exam will be reconducted on June 23. The NTA will soon issue a public notice regarding this matter.

Supreme Court Decision on Counseling

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court refused to stay the counseling process scheduled to begin on July 6. Petitions have also been filed in various High Courts across states, complaining of irregularities in the examination. The Supreme Court’s order will be applicable wherever a petition regarding grace marks has been filed.

Impact of Withdrawal of Grace Marks

With the NTA's decision to withdraw the grace marks, the number of top rankers in NEET-UG will decrease from 67 to 61. Candidates affected by this change have the option to retake the exam or give up the grace marks. Unless these candidates retake the exam and score 720 out of 720 marks, they will not regain their top positions. Out of the 1,563 students, six from a center in Haryana had jointly topped the exam with 61 others.

NTA's Response to Key Questions

• Exam Irregularities: The NTA denied allegations of a paper leak, stating the exam was conducted as per standards. An English paper was mistakenly sent to a center in Rajasthan instead of a Hindi one, but the paper was not leaked.
• Top Rankers: Out of 67 candidates scoring the same marks, 44 received bonus marks due to changes in the answer key.
• Grace Marks: A question in the chemistry section related to atoms had two correct answers due to discrepancies in old and new NCERT books. Those who chose the third option received bonus marks.
• Coincidence of Six Toppers: The high average result of the center where six toppers emerged was cited as a coincidence.
• Marks Anomaly: Grace marks given for technical difficulties resulted in some candidates scoring 718 or 719 marks.
• Early Results: Results were declared within 30 days to complete the enrollment process for 23 lakh students on time.

Options for Candidates Receiving Grace Marks

Candidates who received grace marks now have two options:

• Appear in the re-examination conducted by NTA on June 23.
• Participate in counseling with their original scores minus the grace marks.

Union Education Minister’s Statement

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday rejected the allegations of a question paper leak in NEET-UG. He affirmed that there is no evidence to support these claims and called the allegations of corruption in NTA baseless, highlighting NTA as a credible institution. The government is committed to ensuring no student is harmed.

Legal Actions and Investigations

Three petitions have been filed concerning:

• The formation of a panel under the Supreme Court’s supervision to investigate the results.
• The withdrawal of results and conducting fresh exams.
• Challenging the provision of grace marks for wasted time.

The issue of grace marks was heard in the Supreme Court on Thursday, and all pending petitions will be considered together on July 8.