NEET 2025 candidate allegedly tampers scorecard, Complaint filed with NTA

Mangaluru: A shocking case of academic fraud emerged in Udupi district, where a NEET aspirant allegedly forged his result to falsely claim an All India Rank (AIR) of 107 in the recently announced NEET UG 2025 exam. The fake story and the scorecard quickly went viral on social media.

The candidate, who actually scored just 65 marks with a rank of over 17 lakh, circulated a fake scorecard showing 646 marks and an all-India rank of 107. He also claimed to be the first-rank holder in Udupi district and eighth in Karnataka, leading to widespread attention and praise - until the truth came out.

According to media reports, the aspirant is the son of a senior state government official in Udupi. He was enrolled at a private PU college in Udupi for NEET preparations. Reports suggest that the candidate was allegedly assisted by his parents in executing the fake topper scheme, which involved the college.

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Preliminary findings indicate that the student, along with his parents and the college, may have conspired to manipulate the NEET result to gain attention and promote the institution.

Moreover, the family is said to have misled a leading regional Kannada daily with the fake scorecard, which led to the publication of the story celebrating the fabricated success.

As per Daijiworld news report, the scam came to light after the student's classmates became suspicious of his claims and decided to verify his results. Their checks revealed that the circulated scorecard was forged.

NEET scorecard discrepancies

A deeper comparison between the real and fake scorecards showed multiple signs of tampering, such as incorrect fonts, a fake signature of a so-called “Senior Director" instead of the official director of examinations, wrong examination year, and even a different passport-size photo.

The forged scorecard was only one page long, while the original NEET scorecards are two pages. The Government of India logo was edited, replacing the correct department name 'Department of Higher Education’ with ‘Ministry of Education’ and the cut-off marks and number of candidates were wrongly mentioned.

The candidate's past academic records from grade 10 to IIPU mark sheets do not correlate reasonably with the high score and rank being claimed. The fake scorecard also lacked the release date, a crucial detail printed on all official NEET results issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The most shocking fact is that the rank of 107, claimed by the student, is actually held by a student from New Delhi. The rank was allotted to Bhavhya Jayna of Aakash Digital Coaching

Social media posts congratulating the Udupi student also included the name of a coaching centre, which is now under scrutiny for its possible involvement in promoting the false achievement. The controversy has triggered widespread anger, with the public demanding action against the candidate.

Complaint filed with NTA

Following the exposure, the National Pre-University Students, Parents and Teachers Association (NPUSPTA) filed a formal written complaint with the Department of Higher Education and the National Testing Agency (NTA). The association stated that the fake scorecard was likely created to mislead the public and promote a coaching institute using fraudulent claims.

NPUSPTA Secretary Mithesh Kumar Moodukonaje highlighted that the QR codes on the forged document did not link to the official NTA website, and the format didn’t match genuine NTA scorecards. He called the act as a strong presumption of forgery and digital fraud under applicable provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Through its letter, the association demanded a thorough investigation by the NTA and any other competent investigating authority to establish the facts, detect digital fraud, and verify the authenticity of the documents in question. Secondly, they called for the initiation of appropriate criminal and disciplinary proceedings, issuance of a directive to all print, electronic, and online media houses to verify rank/result claims directly with NTA before publishing such information, failing which appropriate penal provisions under existing media and defamation laws may be invoked.

They also requested public disclosure by NTA of verified NEET UG results (in compliance with privacy laws and RTI Act norms) to enhance transparency and prevent the recurrence of such fraudulent claims.

When TOI contacted the candidate's father, he denied their involvement and blamed the coaching institute, claiming the fake result was generated and shared by them using the student’s login details. He said they plan to file a complaint against the institute.

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