The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the decision to re-conduct the NEET-UG 2026 examination, scheduled for June 21, which will determine the fate of 23 lakh aspirants seeking admission to undergraduate medical courses across India.
A fresh plea seeking a direction to the Centre to constitute an independent expert committee for examining structural, institutional, and operational deficiencies in the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) came up for hearing. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant deferred the matter to July.
Petitioner Dr. Mangala Kohli, a former Assistant Director General of Health Services (DGHS), urged the top court to stay the effect of the decision regarding the NEET-UG re-test as an interim relief, pending final disposal of his plea for quashing the decision to re-conduct NEET-UG 2026.
However, the Bench simply stated that the matter will be heard in July by a Bench led by Justice PS Narasimha, which has been hearing separate petitions related to the NEET-UG controversy.
The petitioner has sought a direction to the Centre and others to implement secure technology-driven digital examination and evaluation mechanisms, including encrypted digital question delivery systems, biometric authentication, AI-assisted monitoring, and secure computer-based examination infrastructure for future national-level exams.
The alleged malpractice, based on material disclosed during the investigation, appeared to be confined to certain identified persons, centres, and organised networks rather than the entire examination process, the petitioner submitted.
On May 12, the Centre and the NTA cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 held on May 3. The NEET paper leak case has since been handed over to the CBI, which has arrested 13 accused from Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur, Nasik, Pune, and some other places.
Terming it "very traumatic" for students and their families, the Supreme Court on May 29 called for fixing accountability in the NEET paper leak case, even as the Centre said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally monitoring the situation.
"The real problem won't stop till actual accountability arises. Not in terms of so and so will be liable, it will be effective when we know which individual shoulders the responsibility. Unless you identify the specific duty bearers, it will be difficult," the Justice Narasimha-led Bench had said.
"The UPSC has never been in such a situation… You need to learn," Justice Narasimha said, adding that the NTA should learn from other bodies such as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which has been conducting the prestigious Civil Services Examinations without any paper leak for decades.
Asking the Centre to file an affidavit in the matter, the Bench had posted petitions seeking a direction to replace the NTA with a robust and autonomous body to conduct the medical entrance examination for further hearing in the second week of July after summer vacation.
