SC orders IIT Delhi to submit the right response to a "controversial" Physics question for NEET UG 2024

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre to submit the right response to the Physics question to the highest court. A three-person panel of IIT-Delhi experts will choose which of the Physics question's answers is the most accurate from a scientific standpoint.

This ruling was made on July 22 while the bench, which included Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, heard over 40 petitions concerning the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024. The test has been the subject of allegations regarding paper leaks, inflated topper counts, and other irregularities.

During the third hearing, a few petitioners objected to the NTA's decision to give students grace marks on Physics section question 19, which resulted in 44 students receiving the highest ranking.

An atom-themed multiple-choice Physics question this year set off a chain reaction of high scores. Two remarks formed the basis of the query. "Atoms are electrically neutral because they contain equal amounts of positive and negative charges," the first one stated. "Atoms of each element are stable and emit their characteristic spectrum," the second statement stated. Candidates were required to select the "most appropriate answer" from four possibilities in an MCQ question. One: The second is wrong but the first is right; Two: The first is wrong but the second is right; Three: the first and second propositions are both true; Four: neither of the two statements is true.

Although one statement is true according to the new NCERT book, the previous NCERT book gives a different response. More than 10,000 candidates contested the answer key on the grounds that an outdated version of the Class 12 NCERT textbook incorrectly stated, "Atoms of each element are stable." The NTA provided their interim solution key on May 29, which indicated one option as being correct. The revised edition of the NCERT Chemistry textbook states that the proper response is that atoms of "most" elements are stable.

NTA and Centre will present their submissions tomorrow, when the hearing will recommence.