New Delhi, August 7, 2025:
The Delhi High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to overhaul its biometric verification process used during the NEET UG 2024 examination, following multiple complaints from candidates who were marked absent despite being present at their designated exam centers. The Court also upheld the constitution of a high-powered grievance redressal committee by the NTA to address the concerns raised by affected candidates.
The division bench comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Manoj Jain passed the order in a batch of petitions filed by students who claimed that biometric mismatches and administrative lapses resulted in denial of their right to appear in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET UG) 2024.
The Court noted that while the NTA has implemented biometric verification to ensure transparency and prevent impersonation, several candidates faced technical errors, leading to false absences being recorded. “Such lapses directly impact the future of genuine candidates. In a high-stakes exam like NEET UG, the process must be foolproof,” the Court observed.
According to the petitions, several candidates reached the exam centers on time and completed initial formalities but were later informed that they had not been marked present due to biometric failure. In many cases, the candidates were not allowed to write the examination, and there was no mechanism to raise grievances immediately.
Taking serious note of these incidents, the Court directed the NTA to upgrade and strengthen its biometric system and consider introducing backup verification processes to avoid such failures in future examinations.
The NTA, in response to the Court’s observations, informed that it has constituted a Grievance Redressal Committee to look into the complaints regarding biometric mismatches and related irregularities. The Court welcomed this move but emphasized that the committee must work in a transparent, accessible, and time-bound manner.
“The constitution of the committee is a welcome step, but its effectiveness will depend on timely and fair resolution of complaints,” the Court stated, while directing the NTA to file a compliance affidavit within four weeks detailing steps taken to address these concerns.
Key Directions Issued by the Court:
• Upgrade biometric verification infrastructure across all exam centers.
• Introduce alternative verification methods such as physical attendance logs or secondary ID verification in case of biometric failure.
• Establish accountability at the center-level for reporting and addressing discrepancies.
• Ensure the Grievance Redressal Committee functions transparently and resolves complaints within fixed timelines.
The matter will now be listed after the filing of the compliance report.
