SC stays Madras HC order to award grace marks to students who took NEET in Tamil

The Madras high court order awarding 196 grace marks to over 23,000 students who wrote the NEET exam – single window entrance test for undergraduate and post graduate medical courses - in Tamil was on Friday put on hold by the Supreme Court, which accepted that the paper in vernacular language was misleading but said the solution HC offered was not appropriate.

“Yes there are errors in the paper. We understand that this was not just inaccuracy but misleading. However, this (giving grace marks) is not the solution. We cannot dole out marks like that,” justice SA Bobde said. A bench of justices Bobde and LN Rao were hearing CBSE’s appeal against the HC order and issued notice to the member of parliament, TK Rangarajan, on whose petition the grace marks were ordered.

As per the petitioner before the HC, the students who took NEET in Tamil faced 49 incorrect questions because translation of those questions from English to the vernacular language was wrong. NEET was held on May 6 in 136 cities in 11 languages and the results were announced on June 4. But counselling stopped after the HC order.

SC observed that it was not possible to provide a solution this year. But it assured that some procedure would be worked out so that students do not face problems again next year. “We acknowledge the problem but do not agree with the solution,” justice Bodbe remarked.

Justice Rao said: “Giving grace marks would put meritorious students at a disadvantage. Also, it would be unfair to those students who did not opt for bilingual paper but just wrote the exam in English.”

Additional solicitor general Maninder Singh, appearing for CBSE, said NEET in bilingual formula was approved by the SC. English, he said, was a mandatory subject for medical aspirants as the entire five-year course is in that language. So for students to give an excuse that they could not refer to the English version of the paper was improper.

Singh said the admission and counselling process had come to a standstill due to the high court order. As a result of awarding grace marks some students have scored more than the total marks that is 720.

“There are students who have got around 750 marks out of 720,” Singh submitted.

The ASG contended the sole purpose behind Rangarajan’s petition was to challenge NEET. “His prayer says his party is opposed to the single-window test,” Singh alleged.

The bench posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.