Observing that the National Testing Agency (NTA) had not learnt lessons from earlier NEET paper leaks, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre, the NTA and the CBI on petitions seeking the agency’s dissolution after the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 over allegations of a widespread paper leak.
“It is sad that they have not learnt their lessons. The matter travelled to this court earlier also. We passed an order, a committee was formed… a monitoring committee which made some recommendations and they were accepted but…” a Bench led by Justice PS Narasimha said.
The Bench, also comprising Justice Alok Aradhe, directed that copies of the petitions filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association and the United Doctor’s Front be supplied to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and other parties.
It asked the NTA to spell out the steps taken to comply with the recommendations made by the committee constituted earlier. The court also directed the NTA, which conducts NEET, to file an affidavit by Thursday on compliance with its 2024 directions.
“We direct NTA to file an affidavit indicating the position as regards the monitoring committee constituted on November 14. We direct K Radhakrishnan (former ISRO chief), chairman of the committee, to file an affidavit with the steps taken to ensure compliance with the directions of the high-powered committee. List on Friday,” the Bench said, posting the matter for further hearing on May 29.
When the petitioners raised the issue of re-examination, the Bench said, “We are not so much on the re-examination.”
On May 12, the Centre and the NTA cancelled NEET-UG 2026, held on May 3. The paper leak case was later handed over to the CBI, which has arrested at least 11 accused from Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur, Nashik, Pune and other places. The exam has been rescheduled for June 21.
Alleging “systemic failure”, the petitioners have sought replacement of the testing agency with a robust and autonomous body to conduct the medical entrance examination.
Seeking a complete overhaul of the national testing framework, they requested the top court to direct the government to replace the NTA with a “technologically advanced and autonomous body” to restore the integrity of medical entrance examinations.
The petitioners have demanded structural and technological reforms, including mandatory “digital locking” of question papers and a shift to a computer-based test model to eliminate risks associated with the physical handling and transportation of examination material.
The association also urged the court to constitute a high-powered monitoring committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and comprising cybersecurity and forensic experts to oversee the re-conduct of NEET-UG 2026.
