The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024, which alleged that a question in the physics section was based on content not included in the syllabus for this year’s examination. The court ruled that it cannot override the judgment of subject experts and substitute its own opinion in place of theirs.


The petitioner contended that a question on ‘radioactivity’ was incorrectly included in the exam, arguing that ‘radioactivity’ was not part of the syllabus for NEET-UG 2024. However, the court observed that the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam, had consulted subject experts who confirmed that the syllabus includes topics related to the ‘composition and size of nucleus’ and ‘atomic masses’ under Unit No. 18 of the chapter ‘Atoms and Nuclei’. These experts had deemed the question to be within the prescribed syllabus.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who presided over the case, stated that the court must rely on the expertise of subject matter professionals rather than attempting to adjudicate based on its understanding. The court emphasized that it is not equipped to address the intricacies of academic subjects and that the opinions of the NTA’s subject experts should be given precedence.

In addition to the primary petition, the court also dismissed two other petitions filed by candidates who claimed that the answers to certain questions were recorded incorrectly. The court noted that if errors are not immediately apparent, it is not within its purview to reassess or re-evaluate the answers to disputed questions.

The NEET-UG 2024 examination, conducted by the NTA on May 5, was held across 4,750 centres, with approximately 24 lakh candidates participating. While the results were initially expected to be announced on June 14, they were released earlier on June 4 due to the early completion of the evaluation process.

Earlier, on July 23, the Supreme Court had also rejected a plea to cancel the NEET-UG 2024 examination, finding no evidence at that time to suggest that a systemic leak of question papers had compromised the integrity of the exam.

NEET-UG is a crucial examination for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in both government and private institutions throughout India.

Also Read News: