NEET-UG Results: SC Seeks Expert Opinion From IIT-D To Find Answer To Questions With '2 Correct Options'

NTA gave full 4 marks to all those who attempted the said ambiguous question with two probable correct answers

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the IIT-Delhi to constitute a three member expert panel to ascertain the correct answer to the question no.19 in NEET UG exam which asked the students to mark one correct answer but had two correct options. NTA gave full 4 marks to all those who attempted the question. A petition was filed against this move saying that according to NTA guidelines only that option is correct which is given in latest version of NCERT. Whereas one of the correct option rewarded by NTA is from old NCERT.

The top court today heard the petitioners. It will resume hearing response from Centre tomorrow. 

The provisional answer key gave the correct answer. But later they changed and decided to give marks for option 2 as well.

CJI Chandrachudwhile hearing the petition remarked that it is particularly worrying that over 4 lakh students have got the benefit NTA's move to treat both options as correct answers.

He noted that there was wieght in the petitioners argument that she being a bright student skipped the question fearing negative marking. Also, 44 of the top rankers have marked the answer from old NCERT as correct answer. If by the rules, the new NCERT answer was to be taken as correct then NTA should not have chosen to give marks to all the people who chosen either of the option.

SG Tushar Mehta appearing for Centre told the court that NTA had recieved representation from several poor families that they studied from books of their elder siblings.

"4,20,774 attempted option 2(old NCERT edition answer) and 9,28,379 attempted option 4 (new NCERT edition answer)" SG Tushar Mehta informed court.

"You could not have treated both as correct answers. You have to choose either option. Both can't co-exist," the CJI said.

Counsel appearing for petitioner told the top court that the provisional answer key initially provided by NTA gave the correct answer which is mentioned in new NCERT. But later they changed and decided to give marks for option 2 as well.

"What is worrying us is that, over 4 lakh students have got the benefit of what you have done," the CJI said.

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