The Supreme Court adjourns the hearing of the plea challenging the NEET-UG retest to July

The NEET-UG 2026 examination, which was initially held on May 3, was canceled nationwide on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) adjourned to July the hearing of a plea challenging the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) decision to re-conduct NEET-UG 2026 for nearly 22 lakh candidates.

The NEET-UG 2026 examination, which was initially held on May 3, was canceled nationwide on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak. Therefore, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started an investigation and a fresh examination is scheduled for June 21.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice V Mohan ordered that the matter be placed before a bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha, which is already hearing a number of cases related to the NEET examination.

However, Justice Narasimha’s Bench is expected to sit only after the Supreme Court resumes regular sessions on July 13, effectively rendering the suit ineffective.

The lawsuit, filed by former Deputy Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Mangalou Kohli, is seeking to overturn the decision to re-conduct NEET-UG 2026. He claims that the blanket cancellation of the exam and the decision to conduct a nationwide re-test unfairly penalizes thousands of bona fide candidates who had no connection with the paper leak.

“The petitioner submits that while the allegations of paper leakage and examination malpractice are serious and warrant a rigorous investigation and exemplary action against every person involved, the constitutional rights and legitimate interests of thousands of bona fide candidates cannot be sacrificed due to institutional and administrative failures attributable to the examination-conducting authority itself,” the plea said.

The petition also seeks directions to the Center and other authorities to implement secure, technology-driven examination and evaluation systems for future national-level examinations, including mechanisms for sending encrypted digital questions, biometric authentication, AI-assisted monitoring and robust computerized testing infrastructure.

It also seeks the establishment of an independent expert commission that would examine institutional limitations in the functioning of the NTA and recommend corrective measures.

As part of a preliminary measure, the petitioner asked for the postponement of the decision on the conduct of the repeated NEET-UG test until the final decision on the matter.

A bench headed by Justice Narasimha had earlier expressed grave concern over the cancellation of the exam following the paper leak allegations, describing the development as “very traumatic” for the students and their families. The court emphasized the need for accountability in the face of mistakes that affected thousands of candidates.

“The real problem will not stop until there is real accountability. Not in terms of who is going to be responsible; it will be effective when we know who is responsible. If you don’t identify specific duty bearers, it will be difficult,” Justice Narasimha observed.

The Bench also directed the Union Government and the NTA to record the measures taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Published – 17 Jun 2026 20:31 IST