NEET 2026 score allegedly dropped from 520 to 85! HC directs NTA to submit candidate's original OMR sheet, scorecard
Chandigarh: Hearing a plea filed by a 19-year-old NEET 2026 candidate who had allegedly received two different OMR sheets and claimed a discrepancy in her result after her score changed from 520 to 85, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Union Government to produce her original OMR sheet and two scorecards of the examination.
In the plea, the petitioner sought a direction to consider her candidature based on the 520 marks that she received earlier and permit her to participate provisionally in the counselling process.
Listing the matter for next hearing on August 14, a division Bench comprising Justices Suvir Sehgal and Deepinder Singh Nalwa observed, "Let the original OMR sheet ...as well as the score cards be produced before this court in a sealed cover."
The petition was filed by a 19-year-old NEET candidate, a resident of Gurdaspur district, through advocate Bikramjit Singh Bajwa, who appeared for NEET-UG 2026, which was initially held on May 3 and subsequently re-conducted on June 21.
According to the petition, on July 13, the petitioner downloaded her OMR sheet from the NTA website and calculated that she had scored 520 marks. However, when the NEET-UG 2026 result was declared on July 16, her score was shown as 85 marks out of 720.
On July 17, she alleged that she received another OMR sheet from the NTA carrying different marked answers, although the candidate details were the same.
After she raised a grievance, an email from the NTA dated July 19 allegedly showed her score as 520 marks out of 720. The petitioner then visited the NTA office on July 20 and submitted a written complaint.
However, on July 27, her score was again changed to 85 marks, and she was dropped from the merit list. She later alleged that another OMR sheet was shown to her at the NTA office, which supported the 85-mark result.
Challenging the alleged discrepancy in the result, the petitioner approached the court and alleged that the NTA, "illegally and arbitrarily and based on false OMR Sheet", had declared her ineligible despite the earlier result and sought directions to consider her candidature based on 520 marks and allow her to participate in counselling provisionally, Indian Express has reported.
She has also sought action against those responsible and a criminal investigation into how two OMR sheets carrying different answers could be available for the same candidate. The plea alleged that the discrepancy pointed to the possibility of a "back door channel", which could have serious repercussions for students.
During the hearing, NTA counsel Advocate Arun Gosain submitted that the representation made by the petitioner had already been decided and placed on record a copy of an email dated July 27, 2026, and a copy of the email had been supplied to the petitioner’s counsel.
After hearing the submissions, the High Court directed the NTA to produce the original OMR sheet and score cards of the petitioner in a sealed cover.
