Supreme Court Questions NTA Again
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed strong dissatisfaction over alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG), observing that the National Testing Agency (NTA) had not learned lessons from earlier court directions.
A bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe issued notices to the Centre and the NTA, seeking responses on multiple petitions that include demands for dissolving the agency and conducting a fresh examination under judicial supervision.
The court directed the NTA to submit an affidavit by Thursday detailing steps taken to comply with recommendations issued after the 2024 NEET paper leak case. The bench remarked that earlier directions had been accepted but not effectively implemented.
The court also instructed that copies of all petitions be served to the Solicitor General and other parties, and ordered that similar matters be tagged together for hearing.
Petitions, including one filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), have called for a complete restructuring of the NTA. The plea argues that repeated examination irregularities have undermined the rights of more than 22 lakh medical aspirants.
The petition has also sought the creation of a high-level monitoring committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, along with experts in cybersecurity and forensic science, to supervise any re-examination process.
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, conducted on May 3 across 551 cities and 14 international centres, was later cancelled following allegations of a paper leak. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.
The government has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged irregularities. The agency has already arrested 11 individuals from multiple cities as part of its ongoing investigation.
Authorities claim the probe has identified key links in the leak network, while further questioning and evidence collection are underway to determine the full extent of the malpractice.
