NEET-UG Re-Exam 2026: Supreme Court Declines Urgent Listing, Directs Matters To Justice PS Narasimha Bench
The Supreme Court observed that the challenge to the NEET UG 2026 re-examination had become infructuous but said issues concerning institutional reforms could still be examined
The Supreme Court on Friday 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.
The issue was mentioned before a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana.
AoR Adeel Ahmed appearing in one of the matters sought urgent listing of petitions concerning the NEET re-examination. The Chief Justice, however, declined the request, observing, "All NEET matters will go before the Bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha. No urgency."
Another petition was mentioned on behalf of around 1,600 NEET aspirants, who expressed anxiety over circulating rumours and recent proceedings before the Delhi High Court concerning the examination.
Counsel submitted that students were also facing difficulties in downloading admit cards and that reports of mismatched examination centres had further compounded confusion among candidates. Seeking tagging of the matter with other pending petitions, counsel argued that apprehensions regarding the examination process continued to persist among students.
The Chief Justice responded, "We will not entertain."
The Court reiterated that all issues concerning NEET-UG 2026 were already before the Justice P.S. Narasimha Bench and would be taken up when the Bench sits. The CJI also observed that similar issues were already pending consideration and would be heard together.
One of the petitions, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, has been instituted by NEET aspirants seeking postponement of the re-NEET examination presently fixed for June 21 and the constitution of an independent mechanism to certify examination integrity before the fresh test is conducted.
The petition has been filed on behalf of 1,672 candidates from across the country, who claim to represent the concerns of a substantial class of similarly placed NEET aspirants. According to the plea, the petitioners have compiled representations running into 33 pages from candidates belonging to multiple States and Union Territories.
The representations disclose a "remarkable uniformity of concerns", including severe anxiety, mental trauma, uncertainty arising from cancellation of the original examination, inadequate preparation time, apprehensions regarding examination integrity, clashes with other examinations, logistical difficulties and adverse effects on mental health.
The petition states that the original NEET-UG examination was conducted on May 3, 2026, but was subsequently cancelled following allegations of paper leak, examination irregularities and compromise of examination integrity, necessitating a fresh examination on June 21.
While clarifying that the petitioners do not challenge the decision to preserve the integrity of the examination process, the plea contends that fixing the re-examination within approximately five weeks of the cancellation is arbitrary and deprives candidates of a fair and meaningful opportunity to adequately prepare for one of the country's most competitive examinations.
According to the petition, many candidates had disengaged from their studies after completing the original examination and were suddenly required to resume preparation for an extensive syllabus under conditions of uncertainty and anxiety.
The petition further alleges that even after announcement of the re-examination, reports concerning circulation of purported question papers, impersonation attempts and examination-related misinformation have continued to surface, aggravating apprehensions among candidates and adversely affecting their ability to prepare in a calm and stable environment.
Contending that the impugned action violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, the petitioners have argued that while maintaining examination integrity is undoubtedly a legitimate objective, the authorities have failed to strike a balance between preserving the sanctity of the examination and ensuring a fair and equal opportunity to candidates across the country.
Earlier, this week, 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: ABC and Ors v. Union of India & Ors.
Bench: CJI Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana
Mentioning Date: June 19, 2026