NEET-UG Counseling postponed amid paper leak row, new date to be announced

 The National Testing Agency has postponed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) that was scheduled for Saturday. The new dates will be announced soon.

The counselling process for NEET UG 2024 has been deferred until further notice, despite the Supreme Court's refusal to delay it. The All-India Quota (AIQ) seat counselling was initially scheduled to start on July 6. The Supreme Court, led by CJI DY Chandrachud, will hear various pleas related to NEET UG 2024 on July 8.

Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court refused to defer the counseling for the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024 examination, saying it is not an "open and shut" process. The top court had issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Centre, and others on a petition seeking cancellation of the exam over alleged irregularities in holding it on May 5.

The counselling process, which includes multiple rounds, will require qualified students to register, pay fees, fill and lock their choices, upload documents, and report to their assigned institute in person. Government colleges, federal and deemed universities, ESIC medical colleges, and the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune are among the institutions offering the 15% AIQ seats.

In a related development, the National Testing Agency released the retest results for 813 candidates, which led to a revised topper tally of 61, down from 67. Six applicants who had previously received perfect scores because of grace marks were unable to do so on the retest, although they were still able to receive high points exceeding 680.