Delhi High Court Seeks NTA’s Clarification on NEET-UG 2025 Candidate’s Plea Over Biometric Defect

The Delhi High Court issued a notice to the National Testing Agency in response to a petition filed by a NEET UG 2025 candidate, who admitted that a defective biometric verification system at his exam centre impacted his performance in the examination. The student appeared for the NEET-UG exam on 4 May 2025 at Trishla Devi Kanohar Lal Balika Inter College in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. As per this statement, the biometric system failed during the pre-exam authentication process, hence he was denied entry at the examination centre. As a result of this, he has to submit a written application requesting permission to enter the examination hall. Following this, he was reportedly allowed in the examination hall just five minutes before the test began.

He also added, during the exam, he was again asked to step out for biometric verification and submit another application in both English and Hindi to the centre superintendent. This caused considerable mental disturbance to the candidate, affecting his ability to concentrate during the exam. A counter affidavit regarding the allegations has been submitted by the on 20 June 2025. The court also ordered the institute to preserve all surveillance and administrative records from the test centre. The next hearing is set for 27 June 2025, before NEET UG counselling is expected to begin. 

Despite all these challenges, the student managed to score in the 98.86th percentile. He has approached the court to seek compensatory marks and the preservation of all relevant records, including CCTV footage, logbooks, and other documentation from the exam centre. The case has also raised wider issues regarding the dependability of biometric systems used in examinations and the psychological impact such disruptions can have on the candidates. The decision of this case may provide a benchmark for how technical issues are handled in future national-level tests.