New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking the conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 re-test in computer-based test (CBT) mode, observing that the National Testing Agency (NTA) was already dealing with multiple challenges following the cancellation of the examination.
A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Aravind Kumar posted the petition, filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh and others, for hearing on July 27 but refused to direct that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, scheduled for re-conduct on June 21, be held in CBT mode instead of the existing pen-and-paper format.
The NTA had cancelled the NEET-UG examination conducted on May 3 amid allegations of a question paper leak. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently probing the matter, and a re-test has been scheduled for June 21.
“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, who appeared for the petitioners.
At the outset of the hearing, Rajput informed the court that the petitioners were pressing only one prayer — that the re-test be conducted in CBT mode.
The bench, however, noted that similar pleas had already been dismissed earlier.
Rajput argued that since the examination was being conducted afresh, it should be held in a computer-based format. Justice Narasimha responded by asking the counsel to appreciate the pressure and logistical challenges currently faced by the NTA.
On May 29, the Supreme Court had observed that students should not be disappointed and stressed that issues surrounding the medical entrance examination would persist until there was “actual accountability” for lapses.
During the earlier hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the government was deeply concerned about the interests of students and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was personally monitoring the situation to ensure that there were no shortcomings in the conduct of the examination.
Mehta had also told the court that several new mechanisms had been introduced to strengthen the conduct of the June 21 re-test.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a batch of petitions, including one seeking the replacement or restructuring of the NTA with a stronger and autonomous body for conducting medical entrance examinations.
In an affidavit submitted before the court, the NTA stated that, after consultations with the Centre, it was preparing to shift NEET-UG entirely to CBT mode from next year, replacing the current pen-and-paper system.
The controversy follows allegations of a NEET-UG paper leak in 2024. While the Supreme Court had then refused to cancel the examination, it issued a series of directions aimed at preventing future paper leaks and laid down guidelines for determining when public examinations should be cancelled.
During a hearing on May 25, the apex court had remarked that it was unfortunate the NTA had failed to learn lessons from the earlier paper leak controversy. It also sought responses from the Centre, the NTA and the CBI on petitions seeking the replacement of the testing agency with a more robust and autonomous institution.
With PTI inputs