NEET-UG 2026: Delhi High Court Refuses To Interfere With NTA's Final Answer Key For Biology Question

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to interfere with the final answer key of NEET-UG examination, 2026, observing that courts cannot substitute their own assessment over that of subject experts, unless the answer is demonstrably and manifestly incorrect.Justice Jasmeet Singh noted that the National Testing Agency (NTA), in its response, stated that the challenges to answers contained in the provisional answer key received from all the candidates were placed before a panel of eminent subject experts drawn from premier institutions of national repute for consideration and settlement. “Hence, the final answer key has been duly approved by the eminent subject experts. This Court does not, and cannot, have the expertise to sit over the opinion and findings of the subject experts, and must give in to their expert opinion unless the answers determined by the expert are demonstrably incorrect,” the Court said.Justice Singh dismissed a petition filed by a 17-year-old NEET aspirant, Kushagra Mittal, who challenged the answer key to Question No. 150 of the Biology section (Test Booklet Code 80).Mittal had appeared in the re-examination conducted on June 21, after the original NEET-UG examination held on May 3 was cancelled. He secured 695 marks out of 720 and an All India Rank of 65. It was his case that Question No. 150 had more than one correct answer and that the answer adopted by NTA was scientifically incorrect.Mittal had selected option 2 as the correct answer, whereas the NTA treated option 3 as the correct answer. He consequently lost five marks- four marks for the correct answer and one mark due to negative marking.The NTA had opposed the plea, stating that objections to the provisional answer key, including Mittal's objection, had already been considered by a panel of experts drawn from premier national institutions. The panel had found the objection unsustainable and accordingly, the answer remained unchanged in the final answer key.Rejecting the plea, the Court reiterated that judicial review of examination answer keys is confined to cases where an error is manifest and the answer is demonstrably incorrect on the face of the record.The Court rejected Mittal's prayer to constitute a committee of subject experts to examine the correctness of the answer given by the subject expert panel of NTA. “However, I am unable to agree with the same. In the present case, the question papers are prepared by subject experts. Thereafter, once the provisional answer key is displayed, the objections received from the candidates are considered and examined by the subject experts of respondent No. 1,” the Court said. It added that it is only when the subject experts, upon examining the objections, find merit therein, the final answer key is modified. “In this view of the matter, there is no doubt that the petitioner is an extremely bright, intelligent and hardworking student but this Court cannot come to his assistance in the factual matrix narrated above and can only express its sympathy. Accordingly, the petition is dismissed along with pending applications,” it ordered. Title: KUSHAGRA MITTAL MINOR & ANR v. NATIONAL TESTING AGENCY & ORSClick Here To Read Order

NEET-UG 2026: Delhi High Court Refuses To Interfere With NTA's Final Answer Key For Biology Question

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NEET-UG 2026: Delhi High Court Refuses To Interfere With NTA's Final Answer Key For Biology Question

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