Madurai: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was on Wednesday restrained by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court from declaring the results of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to MBBS and BDS courses for the academic year 2017 across the country.


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Justice MV Muralidaran, hearing a batch of petitions filed by some students, also directed the Medical Council of India, the CBSE director, and the Union Health Ministry to file their counter affidavits on June 07.


More than 11 lakh MBBS and BDS aspirants had appeared for the NEET at over 1,900 centres across the country on May 07.


A group of nine students from Madurai argued that the CBSE framed different question papers and there was a vast difference between the one in English and Tamil.


They demanded that the NEET be cancelled and a fresh examination with a uniform question paper be conducted.


They claimed that different sets of question paper had been used at various places, though a common syllabus had been announced.


The petitioners also submitted that officials had not informed them that different sets of question paper would be circulated.


In Tamil Nadu, the question papers were different for those who opted for English and Tamil, they said, adding that the one in Tamil was easier.


"One India, one question paper in the NEET is a must. Otherwise, the scaling of intelligence and aptitude would differ.”


"Hence, the NEET should be cancelled and fresh examination with uniform question papers be conducted," the petitioners submitted.


Meanwhile, the parents of several NEET examinees moved the Gujarat High Court for holding the exam afresh with same questions in Gujarati and English languages.


Also, the Health Ministry yesterday announced that the cut-offs for admission to postgraduate medical courses through the NEET 2017 will be reduced by 7.5 percentile points.


The move came after the ministry received various representations from state governments which said that seats in some categories may remain vacant as there are not a sufficient number of candidates available.


(With Agency inputs)