The National Testing Agency (NTA) has recently announced a significant alteration affecting the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG). This change entails the withdrawal of grace marks that were originally awarded to 1,563 students. This decision is expected to have a considerable impact on the ranking of top-performing students in the examination.

According to officials, NTA's decision to retract the grace marks given to 1,563 NEET UG candidates will result in a reduction of the number of top rankers from 67 to 61. Specifically, among these candidates, six students from a Haryana exam center had previously shared the top rank with the remaining 61 students.

Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding NEET UG 2024, the Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it has rescinded the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates who appeared for the exam to gain admission to MBBS and related courses.

These candidates now face the choice of either retaking the exam or forfeiting the compensatory marks they were initially granted for the time lost.

According to a senior official from the National Testing Agency (NTA), "Six out of these 1,563 candidates had shared the first rank with 61 others. The number of top rankers will now decrease from 67 to 61."

The official further stated that unless these candidates opt for a retest and achieve a perfect score of 720 out of 720, they will not reclaim their top positions.

Responding to inquiries about the impact on other candidates' rankings, the official clarified, "The scores of the 1,563 candidates will now reflect their original scores before normalization, without any grace marks. A revised rank list will only be prepared once we ascertain how many of these candidates choose to reappear for the exam."

Despite requests to halt the counseling process for NEET UG 2024, scheduled to commence on July 6, the Supreme Court has chosen not to intervene. It underscored that the admission of successful candidates to medical colleges and other institutions hinges on the outcome of pending petitions. These petitions seek relief, such as the cancellation of the May 5 examination due to alleged question paper leaks and other irregularities.