The number of candidates sharing the first rank in this year’s undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test came down from 67 to 17 as the National Testing Agency released revised results on Friday, reported The Hindu.
This was the fourth iteration of the results for the competitive entrance exam for admissions to undergraduate medical courses.
The examination was held on May 5 and the results were declared on June 4. The first list of results showed 67 candidates had scored 720 out of 720. After a retest was held for 1,563 candidates who were given grace marks, this number had come down to 61.
The latest revision came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that there was only one correct answer to a disputed question in the physics section of the examination.
The National Testing Agency, the body that conducts the examination, had earlier treated two options as the correct answers to one multiple-choice question in the physics section.
However, the court the agency to revise the results by treating as correct the option identified by an expert team of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
According to the latest results, among the 17 top-ranking candidates, one is from Bihar, one from Punjab, one from West Bengal, one from Tamil Nadu, one from Kerala and another from Chandigarh. Two candidates each from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh also scored a perfect 720, in addition to three from Maharashtra and four from Rajasthan.
Six students have scored 716 and 77 students have received 715 marks.
The grace marks given to six of the 67 candidates with a score of 720 were rolled back by the National Testing Agency after the Supreme Court hearings.
The court is hearing nearly 45 petitions against the allegedly arbitrary manner of awarding grace marks for purported loss of time while writing exams in select centres.
After the first results were announced, allegations of question paper leaks and other irregularities came to light.
At least 36 persons have been arrested in the case so far, including 15 by Bihar Police, the Central Bureau of Investigation confirmed on Thursday.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!