- (1.) The National Testing Agency (hereafter 'the NTA') conducted the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (UG) 2019 (hereafter the 'NEET UG, 2019) on 5.5.2019, result whereof was declared on 5.6.2019. The petitioners in all the connected petitions which are being disposed of by this common order as the issue agitated is identical, participated in the said examination, but were not successful. Not unusually they are before this Court questioning the evaluation of their answer sheets at the examination in issue alleging that their answers to certain questions at the NEET UG 2019 examination have not been appropriately evaluated entailing their failure thereat. Appointment of an expert panel to ascertain the correctness of the NTA's view on the disputed questions is sought - with its necessary consequences.
(2.) An information booklet was issued by NTA for the students writing the NEET UG 2019 examination. For transparency at the said examination, Chapter 7 of the Information Booklet detailed the post examination activities and declaration of result. It was provided thereunder that the NTA would display on its website answer key of the questions of the NEET UG 2019 examination, giving opportunity to the candidates to challenge on payment of requisite fee any dispute to the answer key. Challenges so made were to be evaluated / verified by the NTA with the help of subject experts and if found incorrect, the answer key was to be revised accordingly. Based on the revised answer key, the result of NEET UG 2019 was to be prepared and declared. It was provided that "the answer key finalized after the challenge would be final". It is apparent that the post examination activities and declaration of result detailed by NTA in the information booklet for NEET UG 2019 examination expressed an intent only to ensure fairness and transparency to the extent humanly possible. No provision as of an appeal against the decision of the experts evaluating challenges of the draft answer key was intended.
(3.) The petitioners' case in the petitions is as follows: (i) That subsequent to the revision of the answer key following the representations by the aggrieved candidates on the declaration of the provisional answer key in the first instance, the revised final answer key also suffers from certain errors, allegedly demonstrable, which have entailed prejudice to the petitioners (as in the case of Ritik Kumar Versus Union of India and Ors. - SBCWP No.10881/2019). Such candidates at NEET UG 2019 have thus been denied an opportunity to submit objections even on one occasion. Hence the questions to which answers stand altered for the first time in the revised / final answer key be referred to a panel of experts. (ii) That the revised answers, based on which the final answer key has been notified by the NTA, cannot sustain for the reason several of the answers are not in consonance with the answers to the questions in issue, as culled out from the National Council of Educational Research and Training (hereafter 'the NCERT') books - as had been prescribed and hence demonstrably wrong. (iii) That the pattern of the entrance test in issue i.e. NEET UG 2019 as notified in the information booklet published by NTA provided that there would be a single correct answer to the four options in each of the 180 objective type questions in the subject of physics, chemistry and Biology (Botany and Zoology) and yet as per the revised final answer key, more than one option was allowed by NTA in respect to certain questions to be treated as the correct answer. It has been submitted that the duality entailed in two correct answers in the revised final answer key to certain questions indicates that the pattern on which result of the NEET UG examination, 2019 was declared was not in consonance with the notified pattern. That vitiates the final revised answer key to the extent to such questions. An affidavit in opposition to the petition has been filed on behalf of the NTA by Dr. Vikas Gupta, Sr. Director (Admn.) National Testing Agency. A preliminary objection has been taken that the petitions are liable to be dismissed at the threshold for no cause of action within the parameters of scope of judicial review to warrant judicial interference with the final revised result at NEET PG examination, 2019 has been made out. It has been submitted that NTA adopted an elaborate process for taking into account the challenges to the answer key, which was first uploaded on 29.5.2019 on the NEET (UG) website. After due consideration of the challenges by subject experts, appropriate changes / revisions were made in the answer key and the final answer key was uploaded on NEET (UG) website on 5.6.2019. It has been submitted that it is well settled that it is for the experts / academic bodies alone and not for the courts to go into the correctness of answers contained in the answer key as such experts are the best evaluators of the subject / academic issues. Not only from the petitioners but 40,510 challenges were received. They were all appropriately segregated subject wise and placed before subject experts who were Professors from IITs and other reputed Universities. Each and every aspect of the challenge set up in each of the objection was gone into and thereafter, as advised by the subject experts, where warranted corrections were made and the revised answer key accordingly issued on 5.6.2019 as was the result based thereon. It has been submitted that the petitioners have woefully failed to show that the answers to the model question paper put to question in the petitions were / are ex-facie demonstrably wrong. It has been submitted that no malafides or breach of any rule or regulation has been even alleged in the petitions and in terms of the decided cases of the Apex Court as also this Court, no interference at the instance of the petitioners merely disappointed at their failure is warranted. ;