Admissions are impacted by the NEET UG paper leak controversy, and applicants want answers

Since 2017, Lucknow native Binita Mishra (name altered for anonymity) has been getting ready for the NEET exam. She did poorly academically in Class 12 and had little interest in becoming a doctor. On her father's persuasion, she took the exam nevertheless, and she passed with a score of 373/720 on her first try.

She enrolled in the Aakash Institute in Lucknow after receiving a score that made her seriously explore a career in medicine. In 2018, she too took a year off, and in 2019, she took the NEET-UG exam. She studied for a year, but still only managed to achieve 372/720—one point behind her prior best.

On her second attempt, she took herself more seriously and added in-depth NCERT study and YouTube courses to the study materials provided by the coaching institute. Her score was 506 out of 720.

Her fourth try yielded a score of 572/720. In 2022, she gave it another go and received a 586/720. She was undoubtedly getting closer to her objective of passing the NEET examination.

She made the decision to take a year off in 2023 and thoroughly study for the NEET exam in 2024 because there is no limit to the number of times you can appear for the exam.


On May 5, NEET UG 2024 was administered in 4,750 centers, and almost 24 lakh students took the test. On June 4, the results were announced. Out of 720, Binita received 605 marks.

She was devastated. To be admitted to a government medical institution, applicants usually need to score 650 or better; admission to elite colleges typically requires scores higher than 690.

Soon after the rumored paper leak, there was word of 67 record-breaking toppers, all with scores of 720/720.

After working for six years, Binita's aspirations were dashed when she realized that she had not been able to get a seat in medical college. This was due to a problem with the question papers being distributed by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

"It cannot be just that; there has been an inflation of 25,000 in the ranks," adds Harsh Dubey, a fellow NEET candidate.

The dispute around the NEET UG paper leak has caused a delay in admissions. During the third week of July, there will be four stages of the NEET UG 2024 counseling. The health ministry had sent out a notice on Tuesday requesting