Sad they have not learnt their lesson: SC on NEET-UG 2026 row

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other authorities on pleas seeking structural reforms in the conduct of the NEET-UG examination, including an immediate transition to a computer-based testing (CBT) mode in the wake of the alleged 2026 paper leak controversy.

A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe directed that copies of the petitions be served upon Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the Centre’s second-highest law officer, and listed the matter for further hearing on Friday (May 29).

During the proceedings, the apex court remarked that despite the controversy surrounding NEET-UG 2024 and the recommendations made thereafter by a high-powered committee headed by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, concerns regarding examination integrity had resurfaced.

“It’s sad that they have not learnt their lesson,” the Justice Narasimha-led Bench orally observed.

The Supreme Court recalled that after the 2024 controversy, a committee had already been constituted, recommendations were accepted, and even a monitoring mechanism was put in place. In this backdrop, the Justice Narasimha-led Bench directed the NTA to file an affidavit clarifying the present status regarding compliance with the recommendations of the monitoring committee constituted on November 14, 2024, including details of its functioning.

It also asked Prof. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman of the high-powered committee, to submit a separate affidavit indicating the steps taken to ensure implementation of the panel’s recommendations as well as compliance with the directions issued earlier by the apex court.

The latest directions came on petitions, including those filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) and the United Doctors Front, seeking accountability and systemic reforms in the conduct of the NEET-UG examination.

One of the petitions sought immediate transition of NEET-UG to a fully computer-based test mode, contending that the existing pen-and-paper framework involving physical printing, transportation and storage of confidential examination material remained “inherently vulnerable”.

The plea argued that despite recommendations made after the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, the examination continued under “substantially the same pen-and-paper framework”. It contended that the Union government had already publicly announced that NEET-UG would transition to CBT mode from 2027, which itself amounted to an acknowledgement that “technological reform and secure digital examination architecture are necessary”.

The petition further sought replacement of the NTA with a “new independent, transparent and professionally regulated National Examination Authority having statutory accountability, judicial oversight and advanced technological safeguards”.

Another plea challenged the “systemic failure” of the NTA and sought dissolution of the agency in its present form as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

The petitions have also sought the constitution of a court-monitored committee to oversee reforms in national examinations and implementation of encrypted digital paper transmission systems, biometric verification, AI-based surveillance and stricter cybersecurity protocols.

Additionally, directions have been sought for strict criminal prosecution of those allegedly involved in paper leaks and organised cheating rackets, as well as a status report from the CBI on the progress of the investigation into the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.

The petitions argued that the controversy surrounding NEET-UG 2026 — including allegations of the circulation of “guess papers” before the May 3 examination and the subsequent cancellation of the test on May 12 — is part of a recurring pattern affecting national-level examinations.

IANS