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NEET 2026 leak: Supreme Court petition seeks court-monitored re-test, replace exam conducting agency
The petition also requests replacing the exam conducting agency and bringing reforms to conduct future competitive examinations.
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court requesting that the re-test for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2026, which was cancelled following an alleged nationwide leak, be conducted under court supervision for undergraduate medical admission. The petition also requests replacing the exam conducting agency and bringing reforms to conduct future competitive examinations.
The petition, filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) on Wednesday, came after the Centre’s decision on Tuesday to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 examination over allegations of paper leak. The case has since been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to apprehend the accused persons. The petition has named CBI as a party to know the status of the investigation in the case.
The FAIMA plea, through advocate Tanvi Dubey, attacked the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET, seeking a direction to replace it with a body that is technologically well-equipped and autonomous in ensuring the integrity of NEET. It also sought centre-wise NEET results to be prepared to spot anomalies in future examinations.
The plea has suggested a slew of reforms, which include a mandatory step for “digital locking” of question papers and a computer-based NEET examination to avoid the physical handling and transportation of question papers.
With the Centre having announced to hold NEET again for over 2 million students who appeared in the examination held on May 3, the petition has urged the top court to ensure this is done under the court’s supervision and to have a high-powered committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge, along with other experts, to oversee every aspect of the examination.
It also proposed establishing an independent body in the long run—the National Examination Integrity Commission (NEIC)—consisting of experts in the field to ensure the examination process is fool-proof.
The petition is yet to be listed. The lawyers appearing in the case confirmed that they will be requesting the top court for an urgent listing.
