NEET-UG paper leak row: Students face ‘enormous anxiety’ ahead of re-exam, says Supreme Court | Today’s news
Ahead of the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET-UG) retake, a lawyer who appeared for NEET-UG students told the Supreme Court on Friday that around 1,600 candidates faced “immense anxiety and pressure” after seeing the proceedings before the Delhi High Court on Thursday where the alleged paper leaks surfaced on social media, LiveLaw admitted.
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The lawyer said, “This matter concerns 1,600 NEET candidates. They are under immense pressure and anxiety because of all the rumors that are going around, including yesterday’s proceedings before the Delhi High Court which categorically admitted and accepted that the paper leaks and these events are on social media.”
His remarks came as the apex court on Friday refused to entertain pleas seeking an urgent list of issues arising out of the NEET re-test scheduled for June 21.
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NTA has put in place extensive safeguards including multi-layered security protocols and coordination with various ministries and state governments to maintain a safe and fair examination environment.
The temporary ban was imposed to prevent abuse by organized fraud networks that allegedly used Telegram to send out leaked questions and facilitate exam-related fraud.
Candidates are informed through SMS reminders, emails and WhatsApp messages urging them to download their admit cards and beware of fraudulent communications.
The re-examination of NEET-UG is scheduled for June 21 after the cancellation of the original examination on May 12 due to allegations of paper leakage. The situation is currently being investigated by the CBI.
Candidates facing problems in downloading their admit cards should approach NTA for assistance as there has been a rise in concerns related to the display of various centres.
The lawyer also sought the high court’s intervention, citing concerns that many students could not download their admit cards, while others who could download were referred to other centres. The lawyer said, “Besides, there is a concern that they are not able to download the admit cards as well. The cards that are being downloaded point to different centers and all that. Students hardly have time.”
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Supreme Court rejects urgent hearing, says ‘no urgency’
The issue was raised before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant by the lawyer appearing for more than 1,600 NEET candidates.
Dismissing the plea, CJI Kant observed that all matters relating to re-examination had already been listed before a committee headed by Justice PS Narasimha. CJI Kant added, “We will not discuss it. We know judicial platforms are also being used for this… All these matters are before the Narasimha court. Once the vacations are over, everything will be taken up.”
NTA issues safety advisory, shares card on WhatsApp
Earlier today, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said it has been sending reminder messages, emails and WhatsApp notifications to candidates, urging them to download their admit cards for the upcoming NEET-UG re-examination scheduled on Sunday. The NTA has also advised students to beware of fraudulent messages and fake communications.
In a post on X, it wrote, “NTA is sending reminder SMS and emails to candidates to download their admit cards for re-examination on Sunday, June 21, 2026.” She further informed the students that legitimate SMS messages will be sent from the official sender ID “NICPEP” and that emails will come from “no-reply.neet.nta@nic.in”.
The agency also said it will now send exam updates and center-related information directly to candidates via WhatsApp for re-examination.
The advisory reportedly followed several users taking to social media to raise concerns over “urgent” messages sent by the NTA asking students to download new admit cards for the June 21 examination, news agency PTI reported.
Controversy of NEET-UG exam
The notification came after this year’s NEET-UG exam for admission to medical courses was initially scheduled for May 3 but was later canceled on May 12 due to allegations of a paper leak.
Earlier this week, the central government imposed a temporary ban on messaging platform Telegram till June 22 in light of the NEET-UG re-examination, saying it had been misused by organized cheating networks before the re-test. The shutdown is a measure of last resort, according to the Center, and has drawn widespread criticism from the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), which has argued that the regulation is legally overreaching, practically ineffective and ultimately harmful to the very students it purports to protect.
In addition, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov also criticized the Center’s decision in a series of posts on X. On Wednesday, the messaging platform filed a petition against the ban in the Delhi High Court; However, the Supreme Court today upheld the Centre’s move to temporarily restrict access to messaging app Telegram, saying the verdict was “not unreasonable”.
The order was passed orally by vacation bench Tejas Karia, who said, “After considering all the arguments, we find that in view of the emergency nature, the reasons given are sufficient and the government has followed the procedure under Section 69A.”
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now looking into the case.
