NEET-UG 2026 Leak: SC Petition Demands SIT Probe, NTA Reform

Fresh concerns over the integrity of national entrance examinations have reached the Supreme Court, where a petition has sought urgent intervention over repeated leaks and alleged malpractice in NEET examinations.

The plea, addressed to Chief Justice Surya Kant, calls for a court-monitored investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a Special Investigation Team into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy.

Filed by Dr Dhruv Chauhan of the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors Network and activist Harisharan Devgan through advocate Satyam Singh, the petition alleged that paper leaks, impersonation rackets, solver gangs and cybersecurity failures have severely damaged public trust in the examination process.

The petition also demanded that the National Testing Agency be replaced with a new independent examination authority operating under stronger legal accountability, judicial oversight and advanced technological safeguards.

Citing earlier controversies linked to NEET-UG 2024 and JEE Main 2021, the plea argued that repeated irregularities point to a ‘systemic breakdown’ within the NTA. It referred to a March 2025 statement by the Union Education Ministry in Rajya Sabha, which disclosed that the CBI had filed five charge sheets against 45 accused persons in the NEET-UG 2024 paper theft case.

The petition said students from middle-class and economically weaker families spend years preparing for NEET, only to face an examination system allegedly compromised by organised cheating networks.

The plea further sought biometric verification, encrypted digital paper transmission, tougher cybersecurity systems and fast-track prosecution of those involved.

The matter gained urgency after the NTA cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3 and announced a re-test following reports of irregularities.

Investigators are also probing links to nearly 200 students across Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, where leaked ‘model papers’ allegedly circulated through Telegram and WhatsApp for sums between Rs 25,000 and Rs 2 lakh.