NEET-UG 2026: Supreme Court Refuses Plea Seeking Re-Test In Computer-Based Test Mode

The Supreme Court today 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 observed.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, agreed that accountability must ultimately be fixed somewhere and informed the Court that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally monitoring the situation. “The Hon’ble Prime Minister is personally supervising this,” Mehta submitted.

The Court had also questioned former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan, who heads the high-powered committee constituted after the 2024 NEET controversy, over implementation of the committee’s recommendations. “Despite your monitoring… if this incident has happened, then there would be a problem with the recommendation. Or the monitoring may not have happened,” the Bench observed. Radhakrishnan informed the Court that around 60 recommendations had been made, most of which were already implemented, while some were still under process. The Court, however, indicated that lessons must be drawn from recurring failures and said NTA needed a permanent expert-driven institutional mechanism rather than ad-hoc arrangements.

The petitions before the Court include pleas seeking restructuring or replacement of the NTA, transition of NEET examinations to a Computer-Based Test (CBT) format, enhanced digital safeguards, publication of centre-wise results and judicial supervision of the re-examination process.

One petition filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association sought re-conduct of NEET-UG 2026 under the supervision of a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. Another plea filed by the United Doctors Front challenged the legal structure of the NTA itself and sought dissolution of the agency in its present form. A separate petition by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh and others has demanded immediate migration of NEET examinations to a CBT-based system.

Notably, on May 25, the Court had expressed concern over the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the aftermath of recurring NEET-UG controversies, observing that it was “sad” that the agency had not learnt lessons from the earlier paper leak episode.

The FAIMA through AoR Tanvi Dubey, moved the apex court seeking directions for a complete restructuring of the examination system, including replacement of the NTA with a more technologically advanced and autonomous body. The petition referred to media reports claiming that “guess papers” circulating on encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram allegedly matched more than 100 questions from the actual examination paper. Calling the incident a grave threat to the integrity of competitive examinations, the plea urged the Court to direct the Union government to replace or fundamentally restructure the NTA and establish a secure, transparent, and technologically robust mechanism for conducting NEET examinations.

FAIMA has also sought the constitution of a high-powered monitoring committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and comprising cybersecurity experts and forensic specialists to supervise the re-conduct of the examination. The association further requested that the fresh NEET-UG 2026 examination be conducted under the supervision of the proposed committee until a permanent National Examination Integrity Commission or equivalent independent oversight body is established.

The plea additionally sought directions for digitisation and enhanced security protocols in examination processes, including “digital locking” of question papers and transition towards a Computer Based Test (CBT) model to minimise risks associated with the physical transportation and custody of examination material. FAIMA also requested the Court to direct the CBI to file a status report within four weeks detailing the progress of the investigation, including the network involved in the alleged leak, arrests made, charges filed, and the status of prosecution. The petition highlighted that the cancellation of the examination has left over 22 lakh medical aspirants and their families in uncertainty regarding the revised examination schedule, admit cards, examination centres, results, and counselling timelines.

Case Title: SUDHAKAR SINGH Vs UNION OF INDIA

Bench: Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar

Hearing Date: June 1, 2026