VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has taken a firm stand on ensuring justice for medical aspirants, issuing two key directives—one to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and another to the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).
In the first case, Battina Srivalli, a student from Nellore, filed a petition stating that a power outage at the Dargamitta NEET examination centre disrupted her test and impacted her performance.
She alleged that due to the lack of proper backup facilities, she lost valuable time. In her plea, she sought either permission to retake the exam or compensation equivalent to the cost of completing her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree.
Her counsel, Siddadapu Shiva Nagarjuna, argued that inadequate arrangements at the centre violated her right to fair examination.
The National Testing Agency’s counsel maintained that the disruption was minimal as the exam was not computer-based.
However, the Court disagreed and directed the National Testing Agency Director General and the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development to submit a detailed report.
The High Court also referenced similar interventions by courts in Indore and Chennai, where relief was provided in comparable cases.
The matter has been adjourned to June 5, 2025.
Relief for PG aspirant
In a separate case, the High Court considered the petition of Seelam Jaswanthi from Bhimavaram, West Godavari district, who was unable to apply for NEET PG 2025 due to technical issues on the NBEMS website on May 7 and subsequent days.
The Court ordered the NBEMS Executive Director and the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry Secretary to reopen the application window, allowing Jaswanthi to complete her application within a week. The NEET PG exam is scheduled for June 15, 2025.