Roshan Kumar
Ranchi
Hearing a petition filed in the Jharkhand High Court regarding the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination results, the court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to submit the original OMR sheet of candidate Lakshya Singh in a sealed envelope.
The bench of Justice Anand Sen instructed the agency to present the original OMR sheet of the candidate—bearing Test Booklet Serial Number 265208914 and Roll Number 2603107066—in court next week. The matter was heard on July 28, and according to the court order, the next date of hearing has been scheduled for August 4.
In his petition filed in the High Court, petitioner Lakshya Singh claimed that according to the OMR sheet uploaded on the NTA website following the re-test, he was scoring 660 marks out of 720. However, when the official results were declared, he was awarded only 116 marks. Challenging this massive discrepancy, he approached the court and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Ajit Kumar, representing the petitioner, informed the court that the student had securely saved screenshots and scans of the OMR sheet available on the website. He argued that if the OMR sheet displayed online yielded a score of 660, the official result of 116 makes no sense. He urged the court to summon the original OMR sheet to uncover the truth. Accepting this request, the High Court ordered NTA to produce the original document in a sealed cover.
During the hearing, the court questioned NTA as to why the candidate was awarded such low marks in the final result if his performance on the uploaded OMR sheet indicated a much higher score. The court has directed the agency to provide a clear and explicit response regarding this discrepancy.
Several legal counsels were present during the hearing, including advocates Prashant Pallav and Bajrang Kumar representing the Central Government, Arup Kumar Mehta representing the Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board (JCECEB), and Tarun Kumar Mehta representing the State Government.
The NEET examination controversy has sparked widespread protests across the country. Agitations led by the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi gained significant momentum, ultimately leading to the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Prasad. Protests were also witnessed across multiple states.
Amidst these controversies, the Central Government has clarified that fast-track courts will be established to ensure speedy punishment for those involved in the NEET paper leak case. Additionally, the government has introduced an amendment bill in Parliament to make laws related to paper leaks even more stringent.
