Student's 680-Mark NEET Claim Dismissed After OMR Sheet Inspection A 17-year-old student’s attempt to challenge her NEET-UG 2026 score of 160/720 collapsed after she inspected her original OMR answer sheet and confirmed the result was accurate. The Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench dismissed her petition on August 7, 2026, ruling that her allegations against the National Testing Agency (NTA) lacked substance. The court imposed a ₹25,000 penalty, to be paid by her mother into the Public Welfare Account of the High Court’s Union Bank of India branch within four weeks. The student, who had sought admission to an MBBS program, initially claimed her score did not reflect her actual performance. She alleged that the NTA had incorrectly evaluated her responses and demanded a physical verification of her OMR sheet, along with a retally of her answers. Based on her self-assessment against the answer key, she expected approximately 680 marks. However, after being granted access to the original OMR sheet, her legal counsel informed the court that she found the score of 160 to be correct. Deputy Solicitor General Kartik Shukul, representing the NTA, argued that the student’s claims were unfounded. He emphasized that the NTA’s responsibility to accurately record, scan, and evaluate responses is non-delegable, but the inspection of the OMR sheet rendered her allegations unsustainable. The division bench, comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas, criticized the student’s conduct, stating that her assertion that the NTA had failed in its duties demonstrated a lack of due diligence. The court noted that while errors in evaluation could theoretically occur, this case did not meet that threshold.#nta #bombay_high_court #student #karti_shukul #public_welfare_account
