Petition challenges NEET UG 2017 Answer Key; Court Tells CBSE to submit report

The Delhi High Court in response to a petition filed by Ms. Urvashi Khanna, (a Kanpur student, who had appeared for NEET-UG, 2017) has directed the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to file, a report on the correctness of the answers of two questions,that were a part of the NEET-UG 2017 test. The reply is to be filed in a sealed cover.

The petitioner on her part has asked that the NEET UG 2017 result be quashed and re-announced as per the correct answer key. An interim stay has been demanded by Ms Khanna on the process of counselling and allotment, which is to be based on NEET rankings.

Ms Khanna alleges that the 'answer key' provided by the CBSE had failed to mark the right answers in the answer key issued for the examination.

Her petition submits that for at least 4 questions(Question No 58(Biology), 68 (Biology), 105(Chemistry) and 140 (Physics), the answer key reflected wrong answers."

She further claims that an additional mark has already been granted to all candidates for one of the questions that the authorities have accepted to be wrong.

Advocate Shamshad who appeared for the petitioner informed the court that though she tried to inform the court about the errors in the answer key, however, could not succeed in uploading the scanned pages of books containing the right answers due to technical drawbacks.

Further, he stated that an email sent by the petitioner had also met with an automated reply stating that the time for challenging the answer key was over. Her counsel told the court that despite

‘ there being no laxity on the part of the petitioner in approaching the authorities.... she is made to suffer despite of a prompt and pro active action taken by her.

Her petition further claimed that her rank had come down

a serious violation of the constitutional rights debarring her from admission in the best available college of her choice according to marks based on fair examination system’

Ms Khanna's petition further contended that “ due to wrong answers in the answer sheet, the less meritorious candidates were able to secure better rank in the merit list,which further blocked the path of equal opportunity to the petitioner to select a college of her choice."

Attached is her petition