NIVRITI BATHLA Vs. NATIONAL TESTING AGENCY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by the petitioner, praying for issuance of appropriate writ against the respondents directing them to award appropriate marks and to re-publish scores and give other reliefs to the petitioner in relation to Common University Entrance Test (Undergraduate) ['CUET (UG)-2024'] held on 15/5/2024, 16/5/2024 and 17/5/2024.

(2.) Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner states that the petitioner had specifically challenged the inconsistency in the Accountancy Paper of CUET (UG)-2024 held on 17/5/2024 between the instructions given in the examination question, booklet and the Information Bulletin and the answer key published by respondent no. 1 i.e., National Testing Agency ['NTA'] on 25/7/2024. It is stated that the petitioner herein had appeared for the CUET (UG)-2024 and had particularly faced an issue with the Accountancy paper held on 17/5/2024 with regard to the answers in the Final answer key for Question nos. 7 and 22 in Test Booklet Code 'A". It is stated that the answer of Question no. 7 has been wrongly assessed as option no. 2, and for Question no. 22, two correct answers have been suggested which is contrary to the instructions and answers given in the latest NCERT textbook as available on the NCERT website, and the same has adversely impacted the score of the petitioner herein.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner states that on 7/7/2024, respondent no. 1 i.e. NTA had published the provisional answer key. The students/candidates were given time to raise objections against the answer key. The petitioner herein had raised objections qua Question no. 7 but the same was of no avail. It is stated that on 25/7/2024, respondent no. 1 had published the Final answer key, wherein it was observed by the petitioner that for Question no. 7 of Test Booklet Code 'A', only option no. 2 was declared as correct, which is wrong since the correct option to the particular question can be both option no. 1 and option no. 2. It is stated that this particular question is ambiguous in nature and as per the latest edition of the NCERT textbook of Accountancy, both the options i.e. option no. 1 and 2 are the correct answers. It is further stated by learned counsel for the petitioner that the answer key is contrary to the instructions of the exam that categorically states that marks will be awarded to those candidates who have marked any of the correct options, if more than one option is found to be correct, which is the case here. The Question no. 7 of Test Booklet Code 'A' is extracted hereunder for reference: <IMG>JUDGEMENT_106_LAWS(DLH)8_2024_1.jpg</IMG>