NEET UG 2026 highlights: NTA to announce re-exam schedule in 7-10 days; CBI registers case in paper ‘leak’ matter

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Abhishek Singh on Tuesday said the schedule for the re-conduct of the cancelled NEET-UG 2026 examination would be announced within the next seven to ten days.

“I am trying to decide this (re-examination date) along with my team. When they told me that you (students) were here and waiting for me, I thought I should come and speak with you,” he said.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday slammed the Centre over the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination, and said the future of 23 lakh students "has once again been toyed with".

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the "irregularities".

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: Members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) staged a massive protest march to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) office in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, following the National Testing Agency's (NTA) cancellation of the NEET-UG exam.

The demonstration escalated into a confrontation as protesters breached police barricades and jumped into the office compound. Despite heavy security deployment, police struggled to contain the crowd as tensions flared between demonstrators and personnel.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Abhishek Singh on Tuesday said the schedule for the re-conduct of the cancelled NEET-UG 2026 examination would be announced within the next seven to ten days, while assuring students that strict action was being taken against those involved in the alleged paper leak.

"We will tell you the schedule within the next 7-10 days," Singh said when asked about the timeline for the re-exam.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: The student who has been arrested in the NEET malpractice case has been identified as Shubham Khairnar. He was a bachelor of medical sciences student in Bhopal who got the ‘guess’ paper’s physical copy in Nashik a few days before the NEET exam on May 3.

He forwarded a soft copy to a person in Haryana a senior Rajasthan police officer aware of the investigation by the special operation group (SOG) said. Read more here.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: NTA DG Abhishek Singh on Tuesday said that they received information on the night of 7th May, through a whistleblower, that an individual received messages matching the questions in the exam before the exam was conducted.

Upon verification, it was found that on 1st and 2nd May, the PDF with exact questions was available on the phones of a few people. “This was against our zero-tolerance policy,” he said, adding that due to this, the exam was cancelled.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: On NEET-UG 2026 exam cancelled due to allegations of paper leak. NTA DG Abhishek Singh said that the matter has been handed over to CBI. “All accused will be nabbed and jailed so that the future of students are not adversely impacted,” he said.

The official also confirmed that NTA will conduct a re-exam for students, in which no additional fee for the re-exam will be charged, and the agency will also refund the fee charged in the first exam.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) began investigating reports that a handwritten document, described as a "guess paper", containing exam questions had been circulating among students before the examination.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now taken over the probe as the exam stands cancelled.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: On inputs from Rajasthan Police, the Nashik City Crime Branchdetained a youth named Shubham Khairnar from the Indira Nagar area in connection with the NEET paper leak case, and he will be handed over to Rajasthan Police, which will further transfer him to the CBI.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday refused to answer questions from the media regarding the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination amid allegations of paper leak and examination irregularities.

Pradhan declined to respond when reporters sought his reaction to the controversy surrounding the medical entrance examination, which was cancelled by the Centre earlier in the day.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: Several opposition leaders took to X questioning the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and demanding accountability over the recurring controversies surrounding entrance tests.

(With inputs from PTI report)

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: The Agency has not shared any information on when the NEET UG re-exam date will be released.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: Indian Medical Association National President Dr Anil Kumar J Nayak on Tuesday urged the Central government to conduct a thorough probe and take strict action against the guilty in the alleged leak of the NEET UG 2026 question paper.

(With inputs from ANI)

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: The provisional answer key was released on May 7, 2026.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: After the Centre cancelled the NEET UG 2026 exam amid allegations of paper leak and examination irregularities, a NEET aspirant, Yuvraj Singh told ANI that the news induces "mental trauma" in those who cleared the exam with hard work, calling the paper leak "an annual occurrence."

Singh, preparing to appear for NEET UG 2027, expressed the fear that the students of his batch already feel.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) National President Vinod Jakhar on Tuesday demanded that the government take the strictest action against those who were involved in the paper leak of NEET-UG 2026.

"Students from every corner of the nation are out on the streets. NEET aspirants are out on the streets. Where is the government?" Jakhar said.

NEET UG 2026 LIVE Updates: DMK president MK Stalin on Tuesday termed NEET a "scam" following the cancellation of the examination over alleged paper leak irregularities.

In a post on X, Stalin said that irregularities in the NEET examination had once again surfaced this year, leading to the cancellation of the exam and causing mental distress to lakhs of students. He also suggested that MBBS seats should instead be allotted on the basis of Plus Two (Class 12) marks, as was done previously.

NEET exam cancelled 2026 LIVE: Reacting strongly to the cancellation of NEET 2026 exam, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said: “The hard work of over 22 lakh students has been crushed.”

In an X post, calling it “a crime against the future of the youth,” he wrote that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “so-called Amrit Kaal has turned into a poison era for the country.”

NEET exam cancelled 2026 LIVE: Reacting to the cancellation of NEET-UG exams due to allegations of paper leak, a NEET aspirant told ANI, "The exam being leaked is a big deal... Appearing once again makes it more stressful... The Government of India should take a huge action on it..."
This year, a total of 22.79 lakh candidates had registered for the exam.

NEET exam cancelled 2026 LIVE: The Indian National Congress on Tuesday strongly criticised the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 following allegations of a paper leak, saying that 22 lakh students and their families had suffered despite months of hard work.

In a post on X, the party alleged that repeated examination leaks reflected the Centre's failure to safeguard students' futures and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

NEET exam cancelled 2026 LIVE: Nitin Vijay, educator and founder of Motion Education, said the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination following allegations of a paper leak was unfortunate and should not have happened.

Talking to ANI, Vijay praised the government for taking swift and decisive action in the interest of students and urged candidates not to panic over the incident.

NEET exam cancelled 2026 LIVE: NTA has stated that inputs regarding alleged malpractice activity were received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination, and were escalated to central agencies on the morning of May 8 for "independent verification and necessary action".