Delhi HC Rejects NEET Aspirant’s Claim Of ‘Out-of-Syllabus’ Question

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday has rejected a petition filed by a NEET candidate who claimed that the entrance examination included an ‘out-of-syllabus’ question.

The court emphasized that it is not its role to question the expertise of subject matter experts or to replace their judgments with its own.

The candidate’s petition focused on a physics question related to ‘radioactivity,’ arguing that this topic was not included in the NEET-UG syllabus for the year. However, the court pointed out that the question had been reviewed by experts from the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting the exam. These experts confirmed that the syllabus encompassed topics such as ‘composition and size of nucleus’ and ‘atomic masses’ under Unit No. 18, which falls within the chapter on ‘Atoms and Nuclei.’

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma remarked, “The subject experts have negated the challenge of the petitioner. Therefore, this court is of the opinion that it cannot substitute its own understanding for that of the experts, who are better equipped to address the complexities and nuances of the subject.”

She further stated, “This court is of the opinion that when academic and subject experts of NTA have opined that the impugned question has been prepared from the prescribed syllabus of NEET (UG)-2024, this court cannot doubt the wisdom of the experts and substitute its opinion in place of the same.”

In addition to this case, the High Court also dismissed two other petitions from candidates who contended that certain answers had been incorrectly recorded. The court noted that, unless the errors are obvious, it cannot re-evaluate or reassess the answers to the disputed questions.

The NEET-UG 2024 examination took place on May 5 across 4,750 centers, with around 24 lakh candidates participating. While the results were anticipated on June 14, they were released earlier on June 4 due to the expedited completion of answer sheet evaluations.

On July 23, the Supreme Court declined to annul the NEET-UG 2024 examination, stating that there was no substantial evidence to suggest that a systemic leak of question papers had compromised the integrity of the exams. NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in both government and private institutions across India.