No stay on NEET-UG counselling as SC dismisses key error plea
Supreme Court clears path for NEET-UG 2025 counselling despite disputed key claims
- By Gurmehar --
- Friday, 04 Jul, 2025
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a request to stop the counselling process for the NEET-UG 2025 examination. The request came from a student who claimed that the answer key released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) had an error that affected his final score.
The student, Shivam Gandhi Raina, scored 565 marks in NEET-UG 2025. He got an all-India rank of 6,783 and a general category rank of 3,195. He said that if the error in the answer key was fixed, he would gain five more marks. This could help him get a seat in a better medical college.
Shivam argued that the answer given by NTA for one question was wrong, according to the NCERT Class 11 textbook. However, the NTA did not correct it, even after students raised objections during the provisional answer key stage.
His lawyer, senior advocate R. Balasubramanian, told the court that a small error could affect the future of students. He requested that the counselling process be stopped until the mistake is corrected.
But a bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and R. Mahadevan refused to stop the counselling. The judges said the court should not interfere in a national-level exam that affects the future of thousands of students.
Court focuses on larger issues
The judges said, “Yes, there may be multiple correct answers. But still, we will not interfere in a national-level examination.” They explained that while the concern was important for the student, the matter was too small for the court to step in at this stage.
The court also said that a similar case was handled last year when many students had raised issues about errors in the NEET answer key. At that time, the court asked a special team of experts from IIT to review the matter. Their report led to corrections in the result.
However, the judges made it clear that last year’s case involved many students and a widespread problem. This time, it was just one student’s complaint, and the court said it could not treat each case individually.
The bench said, “This is not the same situation as last year. We cannot look into individual errors unless it is a problem faced by many. We have to look at bigger reforms.”
The court also pointed out that another similar petition challenging the NEET-UG 2025 answer key had already been rejected on Thursday. So, they saw no reason to stay the counselling process now.
Student's concern remains
Shivam told the court that he had already informed the NTA about the error after the provisional answer key was released on June 3. He said he expected the agency to fix it in the final answer key, but it did not happen. That error remained in the final result, which was used to calculate his rank.
Even though he scored well, Shivam believed those five extra marks could have helped him get admission to a top-ranked government medical college.
He also mentioned that the NTA had ignored clear instructions in the NCERT book, which is the official study material for NEET. His lawyer explained that the answer marked as correct by NTA did not match what was written in the NCERT textbook.
Despite these arguments, the Supreme Court decided that the counselling process should not be delayed. The judges said they understood the problem but could not give relief to individual students through court orders. They stressed the importance of keeping national-level exams smooth and fair for everyone.
This decision means the NEET-UG 2025 counselling process will go ahead as planned, with no changes or delays due to this case.
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NEET-UG is India’s main entrance exam for students who want to study MBBS and other undergraduate medical courses. It is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). This year, over 12 lakh students qualified for MBBS admissions.
The answer key plays a very important role in calculating a student’s final score. After the exam, NTA first releases a provisional answer key. Students are given time to raise objections or point out mistakes. Then, a final answer key is published, and the results are declared based on it.
This process is followed every year. However, if mistakes remain in the final key, they can impact a student’s result and rank, which affects their college admission.
Students and experts have often asked for a more transparent and student-friendly review system. They say that if a student raises a valid error, NTA should be more open to reviewing it carefully.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to stop the counselling process in NEET-UG 2025 shows that the court is cautious about interfering in national exams. It puts more importance on maintaining a smooth system for lakhs of students than addressing a single complaint, unless it is part of a wider issue.
For now, counselling will move ahead as planned, and students like Shivam will need to accept their results and continue the admission process as per the current schedule.
The case also highlights the need for the NTA to double-check its answer keys and make sure they fully match the NCERT textbooks. Even one mistake can make a big difference for students whose futures depend on these marks.
