NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Is Traumatic, Should Learn From UPSC: SC Raps NTA
The apex court also raised concerns over the ad-hoc nature of the NTA, and said that unless clear accountability is fixed, the problems will recur
By Sumit Saxena
Published : May 29, 2026 at 4:36 PM IST
|Updated : May 29, 2026 at 7:36 PM IST
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday described the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 due to paper leak as "traumatic", noting that it represents an "investment of immense emotions and aspirations", while posing a volley of questions.
The apex court stressed that accountability is essential and responsibility must be shouldered by identifiable individuals, while urging the National Testing Agency (NTA) to learn from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which has never faced such breaches.
The apex court was informed that the Prime Minister is personally supervising the NEET paper leak issue so that there are no lacunae.
A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe made these observations while hearing petitions seeking to disband the NTA. Dr K. Radhakrishnan, the head of the monitoring committee constituted by the apex court in 2024 to suggest recommendations to strengthen NEET, was present pursuant to its previous order.
The apex court also raised concerns over the ad-hoc nature of the NTA, and said that unless clear accountability is fixed, the problems will recur.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, said an affidavit has been filed by Dr Koppillil Radhakrishnan, former chairman of the Space Commission and ISRO, who headed the committee, where new suggestions were given to ensure that a foolproof system is created.
Justice Narasimha asked Radhakrishnan, "How much monitoring has happened about the implementation? Have you been holding regular meetings?"
"Despite your monitoring on the basis of the high-powered committee’s recommendation if this incident has happened then there is something wrong with the original recommendation because you did conceive such situation would arise. Secondly, there would not have been effective monitoring. How has it happened?" asked Justice Narasimha.
Radhakrishnan said the high-level committee was formed in June 2024 after the problems in the NEET exam, and they had given 101 recommendations. The bench was informed that for the short term (2025 and 2026 testing), 60 recommendations were made, most of which have been implemented, and for the long term 35 were recommended – many of which have been initiated.
"Mr Solicitor, the real problem won’t stop till actual accountability arises. Till accountability is not put in place… Accountability will be effective only when you know the individual who shoulders the responsibility," said Justice Narasimha.
"In a situation like this, unless we identify the responsibility… committee having meetings after meetings after something goes wrong... You would not know where it actually originated and who is responsible. It is the most sensitive thing," observed Justice Narasimha.
Mehta said the government is serious about the concerns of the youths and some new mechanisms have been put in place for the rescheduled exam on June 21.
"We have at the same time created world class institutions like UPSC. The conduct of prelims and other exams never faced a situation like this. You need to learn from other institutions," said Justice Narasimha.
Mehta said the Prime Minister is personally supervising this time so that there are no lacunae and the issue is resolved.
Justice Narasimha said you surely will be able to not disappoint the youngsters and "it is actually very traumatic if something happens like this. It is not merely the students, the families, and everybody. It is investment of so much of emotions. Years of study and it is not beyond us."
"The problem is that most institutions are ad hoc. It's a phenomenon that is everywhere in the country. It's not the individual who has the capability but the institution," Justice Narasimha said.
Advocate Charu Mathur, representing the United Doctors Front ( UDF), demanded dismantling of NTA and replacing it by a statutory authority. Mathur said focus must be on integrity and sanctity of exams with fixed accountability.
The bench directed that instead of the Union Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Human Resource Development shall file an affidavit before it on how to conduct the examinations and improve the human resource by adding domain experts to NTA.
"The endeavour is to ensure that NTA would have the wherewithal, physical and intellectual, to ensure no incident like that of 2024/2026 examination occurs," observed the bench, while listing the matter for further hearing in July.
Petitions were filed after the Centre and the NTA cancelled NEET-UG 2026 held on May 3. The government has since ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allegations.
One of the petitions before the top court was filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) through advocate Tanvi Dubey, seeking replacement or restructuring of the NTA.
NTA: NEET-UG to shift to CBT mode from 2027
The NTA told the Supreme Court that it is all set to conduct NEET-UG in the computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year instead of the pen-and-paper mode after consulting the Centre.
In an affidavit filed by the Director (Legal), NTA, before the apex court, the NTA said a high-level committee of experts (HLCE) has recommended the transition of NEET-UG to the CBT mode.
It said that among the major NTA examinations, only NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted in the pen-and-paper (PPT) mode, primarily according to the scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission. It said all other major NTA examinations are already conducted in CBT mode.
"The HLCE has specifically recommended transition of NEET (UG) from PPT to CBT mode, along with the introduction of multi-session and multi-stage testing," said the affidavit.
"The transition will be implemented from the next examination cycle in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (the client ministry for NEET-UG) – thereby bringing all major NTA examinations onto the CBT platform," it said.
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