The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi to form an expert committee to give its opinion on a physics question in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, for which the National Testing Agency awarded marks for two options, reported Live Law.

The bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra passed the direction after hearing some petitions challenging the decision of the National Testing Authority to treat two options as the correct answers to one multiple choice question.

Some of the petitioners argued that according to the old National Council of Educational Research and Training syllabus, option two was correct, reported Live Law.

The new syllabus of the National Council of Educational Research and Training indicated option four as correct, but the National Testing Agency treated both the options as the right answer.

One of the petitioners said that she chose to leave the question unanswered to avoid negative marking, reported Live Law.

She told the court that the National Testing Agency’s decision to award marks to students who selected option two is contrary to its own instruction that the latest National Council of Educational Research and Training version has to be followed.

She requested the court to either delete the question or withdraw the grace marks awarded to students who selected the second option.

“As indicated, as per the question as framed, students had to select one option as their answer,” the bench said. “In order to resolve the issue as regards the correct answer, we are of the considered view that an expert opinion should be sought from IIT Delhi. We request the Director of IIT Delhi to constitute a team of three experts of the subject concerned.”

The court has requested the expert opinion to be placed before it by noon tomorrow.