A NEET-UG 2026 candidate has taken his result grievance to the Delhi High Court, claiming that the score shown on his National Testing Agency (NTA) account changed three separate times within a single day — first shown as 650, then 500, then 135. He also says the OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) answer sheet the NTA showed him afterwards is not the one he actually filled in on exam day. This matters to every NEET aspirant because it touches the trust every candidate places in the result and counselling machinery — the same portal, the same OMR records, and the same evaluation process apply to all 2.2 million-plus candidates who sat the exam. While this is one candidate's individual case and still sub judice (pending before the court), the questions it raises about record-keeping are worth every aspirant and parent understanding before and after result day.
If your NEET scorecard shows something inconsistent with your own answer-key calculation, save every screenshot immediately and raise a written grievance with the NTA rather than waiting — the burden of proving discrepancy falls on the candidate.
What the petition says happened
The candidate appeared for NEET-UG 2026 on June 21, 2026. Based on his own responses matched against the provisional and final answer keys released by the NTA, he expected a score of around 620 marks.
When results were declared on July 16, 2026, his score on the portal reportedly showed 650 marks. After being logged out and signing back in, the figure allegedly changed to 500. By the next day, it had dropped further to 135 — a swing of over 500 marks within roughly a day, according to the petition filed through Advocate Vineet Jindal.
The plea says the NTA gave no explanation for these changes. It also alleges that when the student visited the NTA office in New Delhi on July 20 and was shown an OMR sheet on screen as proof, he disputed that it was the sheet he had actually filled during the exam — a dispute he says he maintains even after the same sheet was later emailed to him.
The RTI angle and the date discrepancy
Before going to court, the student had already sent multiple email representations to the NTA and filed a Right to Information (RTI) request seeking his evaluation records and original OMR sheet.
The petition also flags what it calls an error in a calculation sheet supplied by the NTA — one that reportedly lists the exam date as July 21, 2026 instead of the actual exam date of June 21, 2026. The petitioner argues this kind of clerical mismatch undermines confidence in how carefully individual records are being maintained and verified.
What the student is — and isn't — asking the court for
It's worth being precise about the scope of the plea, since it is narrower than a demand for re-evaluation. The petition explicitly does not ask the court to re-check or re-mark his answers.
Instead, it seeks: production of the original physical OMR sheet before the court; preservation of all digital records tied to the sheet, including server logs, scanning logs, audit trails and metadata; permission for the student to take part in the ongoing NEET-UG 2026 counselling process while the matter is pending; and appointment of an independent expert, forensic lab or court-appointed commissioner to examine the sheet and file a report.
- Not seeking: re-evaluation of answers
- Seeking: production of the original OMR sheet in court
- Seeking: preservation of scanning logs, server logs, metadata
- Seeking: participation in NEET-UG 2026 counselling in the interim
- Seeking: an independent forensic/expert examination of the record
Why an individual court case matters to every aspirant
It's important not to read this as evidence of a system-wide problem — it is one candidate's disputed claim, and the NTA's side and the court's findings are not yet on record. But the type of relief being sought — preservation of scanning and audit logs — is a reminder that every candidate's OMR sheet and score computation exists as both a physical document and a set of digital records, and mismatches (even rare ones) are resolved only through documentation, not assumption.
For aspirants, the practical lesson isn't to distrust the result system, but to build your own paper trail: keep your admit card, response sheet download, and your personal answer-key based calculation safely until admissions for the year are fully over. If your displayed score doesn't match your own careful calculation against the official final answer key, that gap is exactly the kind of thing worth raising immediately through NTA's official grievance channels, not months later.
Separately, the case underlines why the counselling calendar and any individual score dispute can end up on parallel tracks — courts are typically cautious about disturbing a running counselling process for the wider candidate pool, even while allowing an individual petitioner's grievance to be examined.
Practical steps if you spot a scorecard discrepancy
If you ever notice your displayed NEET score changing between logins, or differing from your own answer-key based estimate by a wide margin, here is a sensible sequence to follow.
- Take dated screenshots of every version of the score/result screen you see, including the browser's date-time stamp if possible.
- Re-check your calculation carefully against the NTA's officially released final answer key — not the provisional one, and not a coaching-institute key.
- Raise a written grievance with the NTA through its official portal or helpline the same day, referencing your roll number and the exact discrepancy.
- File an RTI application if the agency does not respond, asking specifically for your OMR sheet and evaluation records.
- Keep participating in document verification and counselling registration on schedule where permitted, so you don't lose a counselling round while your grievance is pending — legal remedies and admission timelines usually need to be pursued in parallel, not sequentially.
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See My CollegesFrequently asked questions
Is this case about a mistake affecting all NEET-UG 2026 candidates?
No. Based on the facts available, this is one candidate's individual grievance about his own scorecard and OMR sheet. There is no indication in the petition that other candidates' results were similarly affected.
Is the student asking for his answers to be re-checked?
No. The petition specifically states he is not seeking re-evaluation. He wants the original physical OMR sheet produced in court and independently examined, along with related digital records like scanning and server logs.
Will this affect NEET-UG 2026 counselling for other candidates?
There's nothing in the case to suggest counselling for the wider candidate pool will be delayed. The petitioner has himself asked to be allowed to continue participating in the ongoing counselling process while his individual dispute is examined.
What should I do if my NEET score doesn't match my own calculation?
Recheck against the official final answer key, save screenshots and documents, and file a grievance with the NTA immediately in writing. Don't wait weeks to raise it, and keep participating in counselling steps within deadlines while you pursue the grievance.
Can I request my own original OMR sheet from the NTA?
Candidates can seek records related to their evaluation through the NTA's official grievance process or an RTI application, as the petitioner in this case did before approaching the court.
When did NEET-UG 2026 happen and when were results declared?
The exam was held on June 21, 2026, and results were declared on July 16, 2026, according to the petition.
This case is a reminder to keep your own exam and result documentation safe every year, not just this one, and to escalate any scorecard inconsistency in writing the moment you notice it. MedAdmit will follow how the Delhi High Court deals with the plea and update this piece if the outcome has any bearing on counselling timelines or other candidates.
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