The counselling for undergraduate medical courses based on NEET-UG results, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed until further notice. The move comes as the Supreme Court is set to hear pleas over alleged malpractices in conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) on July 8.
NEET-UG counselling has been deferred until further notice, official sources told ANI. The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions. The test was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres, with approximately 24 lakh candidates appearing for it. Initially expected on June 14, the results were announced on June 4 due to early completion of answer sheet evaluations.
However, 67 students scored a perfect 720, an unprecedented number in the NTA's history, with six from a single centre in Haryana, raising suspicions of irregularities and the role of grace marks. The allegations of irregularities, including paper leaks, have led to protests and litigation, with various quarters demanding a complete re-examination.
After irregularities were found in the results – grace marks were granted to over 1,500 students to compensate for the loss of time – the Supreme Court directed NTA to scrap the grace marks awarded and conduct retest for these students. The Court also directed the agency to announce results and revised rank list ahead of the counselling scheduled to begin on July 6. The retest was conducted on June 23 and it was attended by 813 candidates. The revised rank list was announced on July 1.