Supreme Court Pulls Up NTA Over NEET-UG 2026 Leak, Says “Haven’t Learnt Lessons”

In Federation of All India Medical Association v National Testing Agency and Ors., the Supreme Court on Monday strongly criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA) after the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 due to an alleged paper leak. The Court expressed disappointment that despite directions issued after the 2024 controversy, similar issues had surfaced again.

A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe observed that the NTA had failed to learn from past mistakes. Justice Narasimha orally remarked, “We are so sad, they(NTA) haven’t learnt their lessons.” The Court noted that in 2024 it had directed the formation of a High-Powered Committee to strengthen the examination system, and its recommendations were accepted by the government.

The Supreme Court issued notice on petitions seeking restructuring or replacement of the NTA. It also directed the NTA to submit a detailed affidavit within three days explaining the steps taken to implement the recommendations of the monitoring committee constituted in November 2024.

The Court further asked former ISRO Chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, who headed the expert committee formed after the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, to file an affidavit detailing compliance measures adopted after the committee’s report.

The committee had earlier recommended several reforms including better examination security, encrypted systems, stronger candidate verification, digital tracking, CCTV surveillance, secure transportation of papers, surprise inspections, and real-time monitoring mechanisms.

The Supreme Court had refused to cancel NEET-UG 2024 in Vanshika Yadav v Union of India, but had then stressed the need for systemic reforms to prevent future leaks and malpractice. The Court had also expanded the mandate of Dr Radhakrishnan’s committee to examine global best practices for conducting secure public examinations.

According to the Union Government’s compliance report submitted in December 2024, the committee had recommended strengthening the NTA, increasing coordination with States, and reducing dependence on private vendors. It also suggested a gradual shift towards computer-based or hybrid examination systems.

The latest petitions were filed after NEET-UG 2026 was cancelled amid allegations of another paper leak. One petition filed by the United Doctors Front sought complete dissolution of the NTA, calling it a “systemic failure.” The petition stated that over 23 lakh students had appeared in the examination.

Another plea by the Federation of All India Medical Association sought judicial supervision over a fresh NEET-UG 2026 examination and demanded fundamental restructuring of the NTA.

The petitions argue that repeated paper leaks violate Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and have caused severe psychological distress, financial hardship, and uncertainty for lakhs of students and families. Concerns regarding student suicides linked to examination stress were also highlighted before the Court.