New Delhi— The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking the conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination in computer-based test (CBT) mode, observing that the National Testing Agency (NTA) is already dealing with multiple challenges following the cancellation of the exam.
A Bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Aravind Kumar posted the petition filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh and others for hearing on July 27 but refused to direct the NTA to switch from the existing pen-and-paper format to CBT mode for the June 21 retest.
The National Testing Agency had cancelled the NEET-UG examination conducted on May 3 after allegations of a paper leak surfaced. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently probing the matter, while a fresh examination has been scheduled for June 21.
During the hearing, the Bench made it clear that changing the examination mode at this stage was not feasible.
“There is no question of conducting the re-examination in CBT mode. The NTA is already facing too many problems. The examination was cancelled and is now being re-conducted,” the court observed while hearing submissions made by advocate Satyam Singh Rajput on behalf of the petitioners.
Rajput informed the court that the petitioners were only pressing for the re-examination to be held in CBT mode. However, the Bench noted that similar pleas had previously been rejected and advised the counsel to consider the operational pressure currently faced by the testing agency.
The issue of examination reforms has gained prominence amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. Last week, the Supreme Court remarked that meaningful accountability was necessary to restore confidence among students and prevent recurring irregularities in public examinations.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had earlier informed the court that the government was treating the matter with utmost seriousness and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally monitoring developments to ensure a transparent and secure re-examination process. He also stated that additional safeguards and new mechanisms had been introduced for the June 21 retest.
The apex court is currently hearing a batch of petitions related to NEET-UG, including demands for restructuring or replacing the NTA with a more robust and autonomous examination authority.
In an affidavit filed before the court, the NTA said it is preparing to transition NEET-UG to a computer-based format from next year after consultations with the central government.
The court had earlier expressed concern that the agency failed to learn lessons from the 2024 NEET paper leak controversy and sought responses from the Centre, NTA and the CBI on proposals aimed at reforming the examination system.
