Chennai: The Madras High Court has granted an interim stay on the declaration of the NEET-UG 2025 results following a petition filed by several students who claimed they were severely affected by a power outage at their examination centre in Chennai.
Justice V Lakshminarayanan issued the stay on Friday and adjourned the matter to June 2 for further proceedings. The petitioners, thirteen students who appeared for the exam at PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya CRPF-Avadi in Chennai, submitted that a power outage occurred at their centre from around 3:00 PM to 4:15 PM on May 4, the day of the examination.
According to the affidavit, the disruption was caused by a storm and heavy rainfall. The students asserted that the centre lacked backup power facilities such as generators or inverters, and they were forced to continue the exam in poor lighting conditions. Additionally, rainwater entered the examination hall, and they were asked to vacate their allotted seats and relocate, causing further disruption.
Despite the difficulties, no additional time was granted to them to compensate for the interruption. The petitioners argued that they could not complete the examination properly and were subjected to significantly unfair conditions compared to candidates in other centres, which they claimed amounted to a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, guaranteeing equality before the law.
They also invoked Article 21, citing that their right to life and liberty had been infringed due to the failure of authorities to ensure proper conditions during a national-level competitive exam.
The students pointed out that despite submitting a timely representation on May 4, and making several follow-up attempts, their grievances have not been addressed. The respondents in the case include the Union Government, the National Medical Commission, and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET.
With PTI inputs