CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has declined to order a re-examination of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2025 for undergraduate medical courses, dismissing petitions filed by 16 candidates who claimed they were affected by a power outage during the exam.
The candidates, who took the test on May 4 at centres including PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya in Avadi, Government Higher Secondary School in Kundrathur, and Padma Seshadri School in KK Nagar, stated that a sudden storm and heavy rains caused a power cut that was not promptly restored. They argued this created an uncomfortable and distracting environment, adversely impacting their performance in the high-stakes exam.
However, Justice C Kumarappan concurred with the submissions of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which stated that a field-level assessment and a statistical analysis conducted by an independent expert committee found no irregularities or decline in performance at the affected centres.
“The authorities concerned have held field verification under a scientific method and arrived at a reasonable conclusion that there are no grounds for re-examination. The same needs to be accepted unless the report is tainted with mala fide,” the judge noted in the order issued on Friday.
He further observed that more than 22 lakh students appeared for NEET-UG 2025 across India, and granting a re-exam would unfairly affect the level playing field for over 2 million candidates. “This court does not find any merit in the writ petitions,” he said, dismissing them in full.
The NTA informed the court that while a brief power outage did occur due to adverse weather conditions, it was promptly resolved. There was adequate natural light in the exam halls during the interruption, and no complaints or requests for compensatory time were made at the time by the candidates, invigilators, or centre supervisors.
Additionally, the statistical review found no abnormal variations in performance or reduction in attempted questions that would indicate disadvantage. The candidates’ scores fell within the expected range compared to national trends.