Supreme Court declines plea for NEET-UG retest in computer-based mode

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 re-test in computer-based test (CBT) mode, observing that the National Testing Agency (NTA) was already grappling with multiple challenges following the cancellation of the examination.

A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Aravind Kumar, while posting the matter for hearing on 27 July, refused to direct that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, re-examination scheduled for 21 June be conducted in CBT mode instead of the existing pen-and-paper format.

The NTA had cancelled the NEET-UG held on 3 May amid allegations of a paper leak. A CBI probe into the matter is underway, and the re-test has been scheduled for 21 June.

"There is no question of conducting the re-examination in CBT mode. They (the NTA) are already having too many problems. The examination was cancelled, and now it is being re-conducted. Either we dismiss this petition now or after the vacation," the bench told advocate Satyam Singh Rajput, appearing for Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Sudhakar Singh and other petitioners.

At the outset, Rajput told the court that the petitioners were not pressing any of their other prayers and were only seeking a direction for the re-test to be held in CBT mode. The bench noted that similar pleas had been dismissed earlier.

When the counsel reiterated that the re-examination was being conducted physically and should instead be held online, Justice Narasimha asked him to appreciate the pressure the NTA was currently facing.

The observations came amid continuing scrutiny of the medical entrance examination process following the cancellation of this year's test.

On 29 May, the apex court had said it should not disappoint young aspirants and observed that problems surrounding the medical entrance examination would persist until "actual accountability arises".

During that hearing, solicitor-general Tushar Mehta told the court that the Centre was seriously concerned about students' grievances and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally overseeing the situation to ensure that "there is no lacunae". He also informed the bench that additional safeguards had been introduced for the 21 June NEET-UG re-test.

The court is hearing a batch of petitions, including pleas seeking replacement or restructuring of the NTA through the creation of a more robust and autonomous body to conduct the examination.

In an affidavit filed before the court, the NTA said it was prepared to shift NEET-UG to CBT mode from next year after consultations with the Centre.

Following allegations of a NEET paper leak in 2024, the Supreme Court had declined to cancel that year's examination but issued a series of directions aimed at curbing paper leaks and laid down parameters for cancellation of public examinations.

While hearing the matter on 25 May, the court had remarked that it was unfortunate the NTA appeared not to have learnt lessons from the earlier controversy. It had sought responses from the Centre, the NTA and the CBI on pleas seeking to replace the testing agency with an independent and autonomous body.

With PTI inputs