'From Printing Till Students Get The Paper': Centre Seeks To Explain NEET-UG Process To Supreme Court
The Centre sought time to explain the safeguards followed in the NEET-UG examination process, from printing question papers to their distribution, as the Supreme Court heard petitions seeking reforms in the NTA
Supreme Court hears NTA reform pleas as Centre seeks to explain the entire NEET-UG examination process, from printing question papers to their delivery to students
The Supreme Court on Monday began hearing a batch of petitions seeking sweeping reforms in the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) following recurring controversies over alleged NEET-UG paper leaks.
The Bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha also took up a separate plea seeking directions to conduct the NEET-UG examination in a computer-based mode.
At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union of India along with Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, requested the Bench to take up the matter on a Thursday or Friday to enable the Centre to make a detailed presentation on the examination process.
"I had a request. Kindly consider having it on a Thursday or Friday. We wish to explain to Your Lordships, if permitted, the system which we follow from printing till students get the paper," Mehta submitted.
Responding to the request, Justice Narasimha observed, "Yes. Okay. We would also like to know."
The Centre's request comes as the Supreme Court examines demands for structural reforms in the NTA, with the petitions highlighting concerns over the integrity and security of the NEET-UG examination process in light of repeated paper leak allegations.
The Bench is expected to hear the Union's detailed explanation of the safeguards and procedures followed in the printing, transportation and distribution of NEET-UG question papers before proceeding further with the reform pleas.
Apart from the batch seeking systemic reforms in the NTA, the Court is also hearing a petition filed by Sudhakar Singh, seeking a direction that NEET-UG be conducted in a computer-based mode instead of the existing pen-and-paper format.
The matter will continue before the Supreme Court on the next date of hearing.
The petition seeks urgent intervention from the top court to direct the Union of India and the National Testing Agency (NTA) to adopt a secure digital examination architecture and technological safeguards to preserve the integrity of NEET UG.
According to the plea, the issue concerns the "fairness, transparency and credibility of the national medical admission process affecting more than 22 lakh medical aspirants, whose future admission to undergraduate medical courses is solely dependent upon NEET-UG."
The petition refers to the events surrounding NEET UG 2026, which was conducted on May 3, 2026, alleging that question papers and "guess papers" were circulated through digital platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram before the examination.
It states that the National Testing Agency cancelled the examination on May 12, 2026, after investigative inputs indicated that the integrity of the examination had been compromised.
"The cancellation of an examination affecting more than 22 lakh candidates demonstrates that the integrity of the examination process stood compromised and that the existing examination mechanism failed to preserve confidentiality and security of examination material," the plea states.
The petitioner argues that the controversy is not an isolated incident but part of a continuing pattern of examination security failures under the NTA.
The petitioner also argues that the NTA has already demonstrated its capability to conduct nationwide examinations through CBT mode by successfully holding JEE (Main) 2026 across 584 examination centres in 319 cities, including centres outside India.
The plea further notes that the Union Government has already announced that NEET UG will transition to CBT mode from 2027, contending that postponing the shift despite the cancellation of the 2026 examination is unreasonable.
In a related news the Centre assured the Supreme Court that it was undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of the National Testing Agency's functioning. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the government was "going ten extra miles" on examination reforms, adding that the process was under the highest level of supervision and that any suggestions from the Court would be accepted without reservation.
Background of the Case
On July 15, the Court had indicated that a plea challenging the NTA's decision to cancel and re-conduct NEET UG 2026 for nearly 22 lakh candidates had become infructuous, while observing that concerns relating to institutional reforms in the examination process could still be examined in the pending proceedings.
Last month, the Supreme Court had refused to urgently list pleas concerning the re-conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 examination scheduled for June 21, reiterating that all matters relating to the examination stand assigned to a Bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha.
Earlier, on June 17, the Court had said that a plea challenging the National Testing Agency's (NTA) decision to cancel and re-conduct NEET-UG 2026 for nearly 22 lakh candidates across the country would be placed before the Bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha after the partial court working days, along with all other pending NEET matters.
In a related news, the Supreme Court had recently refused a plea made before it to conduct re-test of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG 2026, scheduled on June 21, through a Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode. A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar was hearing a petition by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh which demanded immediate migration of NEET examinations to a CBT-based system. The bench posted the matter to July, effectively denying relief of NEET re-test. Justice Narasimha observed that the Court had already dismissed similar pleas in the past. "You know what kind of problems we are having. The examination was cancelled, it is being reconducted...the kind of pressure that they have, similar matters we have dismissed," Justice Narasimha observed.
Recently, Court on May 29th had underscored the urgent need for structural reforms within the National Testing Agency, observing that recurring controversies surrounding NEET examinations would continue unless clear individual accountability was fixed within the system. The Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe made the observations while hearing a batch of petitions arising from the recent NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and subsequent cancellation of the examination.
“The real problem won’t stop till actual accountability arises… Unless you identify the duty holders, it will be a diffused obligation,” the Bench remarked, stressing that responsibility within the examination framework cannot remain vague or institutional alone. Calling the incident “very traumatic”, the Court said students and their families should not suffer due to repeated failures in conducting national-level examinations. “We cannot disappoint our students. It is not merely the student, it’s the family too… It is so much of emotions, love, time, years of study,” the Bench had observed.
Case Title: Sudhakar Singh v. Union of India & Ors and Federation of All India Medical Association v. NTA; United Doctors Front v. Ministry of Education
Bench: Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe
Hearing Date: August 3, 2026