Kolkata: The National Testing Agency told the Calcutta High Court on Friday that it will debar a NEET UG candidate from taking the exam for three years under the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, after Justice Amrita Sinha prima facie found that the OMR sheets submitted by the candidate were allegedly forged in an attempt “to confuse the court and the authority.”The candidate had approached the court claiming that NTA had published three different OMR sheets and evaluations for one candidate, with scores of 555, 215 and 281.NTA’s counsel, however, pointed out that all three documents bore dates from the 2025 NEET UG examination — not the 2026 exam the candidate was contesting — and submitted that the OMR sheets had been forged.The candidate had appeared for the 2025 NEET as well and had attached those documents, marking certain questions in grey shade that had reportedly been left unattempted in the original, counsel told the court.“Steps will be taken against you for forgery,” Justice Sinha told the petitioner’s counsel. “Prima facie, I can see that what your client has done is not proper. The candidate thinks she will be able to confuse the authority and the court. That is highly improper,” she said.While no costs were imposed, the court recorded that authorities could take steps against the candidate as per law, including the three-year debarment under the 2024 Act.This may be among the first cases to invoke the Act following the Calcutta High Court’s earlier order setting up five fast-track courts — three in Kolkata and two in Port Blair — for time-bound adjudication of examination fraud cases.A second candidate who had filed a separate case alleging discrepancies between her scorecard and the final answer key withdrew the petition on Friday after NTA submitted that she too had allegedly produced a forged document.
