609 marks, then 540, then 167: Medical aspirant alleges discrepancy in NEET result
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has responded to allegations of NEET UG 2026 score discrepancies, asserting that Arya Singh's 167-mark score is correct and alleging that the OMR sheet circulating online was digitally altered.
Fresh questions are being raised over the NEET UG 2026 re-exam results after multiple candidates alleged discrepancies in their scores following the declaration of results. Among them is Kanpur's Arya Singh, who claims her OMR sheet indicated she should have scored 609 marks. However, when the NTA released the results, the portal initially displayed 540 marks before the score allegedly dropped to 167 within two hours.
As the controversy gathered momentum, the National Testing Agency (NTA) responded to Arya Singh's claims, stating that it had verified its records and found no discrepancy in the declared score.
NTA RESPONDS
Responding to Arya Singh's allegations (Application No. 260410434102), the National Testing Agency said the genuine OMR answer sheet is in its possession and was also emailed to the candidate at her registered email address during the OMR response key challenge window.
The agency alleged that the OMR sheet being circulated online is a digitally altered version of the genuine document. According to the NTA, the recorded time of signature of one of the invigilators was altered from 3:45 pm on the original sheet to 2:45 pm on the circulated copy, along with several other signs of digital manipulation.
The NTA maintained that Arya Singh's score of 167 marks has been verified and stands as declared. It also warned that creating or circulating a forged OMR answer sheet is an offence under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The agency also issued similar clarifications regarding claims made by Pratibha Trivedi (Application No. 260412140662) and Lakshya Singh (Application No. 260412053016), stating that it had verified their records and rejecting allegations related to their NEET (UG) 2026 OMR answer sheets.
OMR SHEET SHOWED 609 MARKS
According to Arya Singh, the OMR sheet uploaded by the NTA on the night of July 13 initially contained an incorrect question order. After matching her responses, she calculated that her score should have been 609 marks. She submitted an objection through the NTA's challenge portal, pointing out the question order error.
Arya says the NTA later uploaded a revised OMR sheet with the corrected question sequence. However, she claims the revised document still reflected incorrect marks, raising fresh concerns about the evaluation process.
RESULT ALLEGEDLY CHANGED TWICE
Arya claims that when the NEET UG 2026 re-exam results were released on the night of July 16, she checked the NTA portal around midnight and found that her score was 540.
According to her, the family continued refreshing the website, unable to believe the result. Then, around 2 am, the score allegedly changed again—this time dropping to just 167 marks.
The score currently displayed on the NTA portal is 167, with an All India Rank of 12,52,036 and a Category Rank of 3,67,585.
Calling the incident a technical glitch or a possible evaluation error, Arya has submitted complaints to both the National Testing Agency and the Ministry of Education. She says she has attached her OMR sheet, result screenshots and other supporting documents while seeking an investigation into the matter.
She has also stated that if no action is taken, she plans to escalate the issue to the offices of the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Minister.
SECOND CONSECUTIVE ATTEMPT, SIMILAR ALLEGATIONS
Arya says this was her second attempt at NEET. She claims she had faced similar issues during her 2025 attempt but could not formally challenge the result due to a lack of documentary evidence.
This time, she says she has preserved all relevant records to support her claims.
Arya Singh is from Kanpur. Her father, Rakesh Singh, is a retired Army veteran who served for 24 years in the Rajputana Rifles before retiring in 2025. He was posted in several locations, including the Naugam sector in Jammu and Kashmir.
Her mother, Priyam Singh, is a homemaker, while her younger brother, Ayush, is pursuing a BA degree. Arya completed her Class 12 education from Sardar Patel Academy in Kanpur.
Arya Singh's allegations have once again put the spotlight on the transparency of the NEET evaluation process. While she insists that her score inexplicably shifted from an expected 609 to 540 and then to 167 within hours, the NTA has rejected her claims, asserting that the circulated OMR sheet was digitally manipulated and that the declared score is accurate.
Whether the matter ends with the NTA's clarification or prompts further scrutiny will depend on whether the candidate pursues the issue through legal or administrative channels.