Constitute grievance panel for NEET candidates facing technical issues: Delhi High Court tells NTA

The Delhi High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to constitute a standing grievance redressal committee to address issues raised by candidates who suffer loss of examination time due to technical difficulties for which they are not responsible, while appearing for the NEET examination.

The court observed that constitutional courts cannot be expected to review CCTV footage in each such case and emphasised that such matters ought to be evaluated by a competent body of experts in a transparent and fair manner.

“It may be observed that this court has come across a few individual cases where the candidates suffered loss of exam time for the reasons not attributable to them…,” the court said in its July 28 order.

“Accordingly, the respondent no.1/NTA is directed to constitute a standing Grievance Redressal Committee for the said purpose, if not already in place, where aggrieved candidates may approach for redressal of their grievances,” the court added.

The direction came while hearing a plea related to NEET-UG 2025, in which a candidate sought compensatory marks after allegedly losing time and suffering mental distress due to biometric verification irregularities at the exam centre.

The petitioner had appeared for the NEET (UG) 2025 examination on May 4 at Trishla Devi Kanohar Lal Balika Inter College, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

The petition sought compensatory marks and the preservation of CCTV footage from the concerned test centre. It alleged that due to a malfunction in the biometric verification process before the examination, the petitioner was asked to submit an application for permission to enter the exam hall.

According to the plea, the candidate was allowed to enter the examination hall only five minutes before the test was scheduled to begin.