E-Paper
‘Breach in command chain, we take responsibility’: Govt after NEET paper leak
Addressing a press conference, union minister Dharmendra Pradhan vowed strong action against those responsible for the NEET-UG paper leak.
Days after the NEET-UG 2026 exam was cancelled, the government on Friday took responsibility for a “breach in command” despite following recommendations of the Radhakrishnan committee. Addressing a press conference, union minister Dharmendra Pradhan vowed strong action against those responsible for the paper leak, and said that the decision to cancel the exam conducted this month was taken in favour of meritorious students.
“Despite following recommendations of Radhakrishnan committee, there was a breach in command chain. We accept it and take responsibility to improve it,” Pradhan said.
He was referring to the high-level committee led by former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan and constituted after the 2024 NEET paper leak. The committee had reportedly made 95 comprehensive recommendations for reforms in the exam process.
However, another paper leak happened this year and the exam carried out on May 3, 2026 was cancelled, with the retest scheduled for June 21.
On ‘role’ of NTA insiders
During the press conference, Pradhan was also asked about the alleged involvement of insiders in the National Testing Agency (NTA), as stated in an earlier HT report. In response the minister said: “CBI will investigate the matter thoroughly. CBI is a trustworthy agency, and it will probe matter smoothly.”
“We will have to fix wherever the NTA is falling short, and the NTA will be responsible,” the minister also said during the presser, further adding that some things have “come into notice” and everything will be probed thoroughly.
On Thursday, the CBI told a Delhi court that the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak traces back to a source inside the NTA, and that a probe was underway to identify the NTA officials and other government functionaries involved.
The government has expressed regret over having to re-order exam, but said the decision was taken keeping the hardworking students in mind, and to ensure that “wrongdoings of scamsters” doesn't jeopardise their future.
Changes in NEET re-exam
With the re-exam scheduled for June 21, Dharmendra Pradhan also announced some key details on the changes in its conduct:
- Extra time of 15 minutes to be allotted this time for formalities such as signing of the OMR sheet at the beginning and the end. The timing of the exam will now be 2 pm to 5:15 pm.
- Applicants can choose the city of their choice as the Examination Center.
- The admit cards for re-NEET will be issued by June 14.
The minister also said that starting next year, the exam will take place in the computer-based testing (CBT) mode, for which the Radhakrishnan committee had reportedly made a strong case.
