NEET Candidate who claimed Receiving Torn OMR Sheet submitted forged documents: HC allows NTA to take legal action
Lucknow: Noting that the said OMR sheet was intact, the Allahabad High Court has observed that a NEET aspirant who had alleged in her petition that the National Testing Agency (NTA) failed to declare her result and that her OMR answersheet was found torn had submitted forged documents. Further, the bench has allowed the NTA to take legal action in the matter.
According to PTI report, this came after the National Testing Agency, on the direction of the high court's Lucknow bench, produced before it the original OMR answer sheet of the student which was found to be intact.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the controversy erupted when a video of the NEET candidate Ms. Patel became viral on the internet. She was seen in the video claiming that she did not receive her NEET UG 2024 results, announced on June 08 and instead received an email from the NTA indicating that her results could not be displayed.
The student, Patel, in her petition, claimed that NTA sent her a communication saying her result would not be declared as her OMR sheet was found torn.
Her video on social media repeating the allegations that caused a stir amid the ongoing row over claims of irregularities in the conduct of the undergraduate medical entrance exam NEET. In response, the NTA had also issued a clarification refuting to her claims.
Meanwhile, filing the plea, the petitioner had demanded that her OMR sheet be evaluated manually. She had also called for an inquiry against NTA and demanded that the counselling for admission be stopped.
A vacation bench of Justice Rajesh Singh had, on June 12, asked the NTA to produce the original records of the student.
In compliance with the order, NTA's Deputy Director Sandeep Sharma presented the original documents of the student along with an affidavit, reports PTI.
After seeing the documents, the court found that the student had filed the petition on the basis of forged documents. The court termed it regrettable and said that the NTA is free to take legal action in the matter.
At the same time, the advocate of the petitioner requested permission to withdraw the petition, which the court accepted.
The NTA told the court that the decision to take legal action against the petitioner student had already been taken by it.
The court said that the petitioner has submitted forged documents, and in such a situation it cannot stop NTA from taking legal action against the student.
Reacting to Ms Patel's video, which was shared by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi among others, the NTA had said on June 12 that her paper is still intact and it is a case of forgery on the part of the candidate, whose actual score is lower than claimed.
"No torn OMR answer sheet was sent from any official NTA email, and the actual OMR is available and not torn. Moreover, all results are available online," said an official.
The NTA had countered the claims of the incorrect result on social media stating, "Regarding the viral video featuring Ms Ayushi Patel, claiming discrepancies in NEET (UG) 2024 scoring and receiving of torn OMR answer sheet, NTA clarifies that no torn answer sheet was sent via an official NTA ID. OMR answer sheet is intact and scores are accurate as per official records..."
