The NEET-UG 2026 exam, held on May 3 for over 2.27 million aspirants for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses, was cancelled on May 12 after investigations revealed overlaps between a pre-circulated guess paper and the actual question paper. The scandal was first exposed by an unlikely whistleblower — a chemistry teacher from Sikar in Rajasthan, Shashikant Suthar, who saw a PDF doing the rounds on phones as a “guess paper” and realised the questions and the order of the options were the same as the official paper. Later investigations found that guess papers being circulated on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram were matching more than 100 questions of the actual exam.
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Supreme Court Sends Clear Message to NTA
The issue soon came before India’s Supreme Court. The Supreme Court expressed serious concern over the functioning of the NTA, saying it was “sad” that the agency had not learned lessons from the earlier paper leak episode. The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) had filed a writ petition seeking directions from the court to the government to replace or overhaul the NTA and put in place a secure, transparent and technologically robust mechanism for conducting NEET examinations. The association called for a high-powered monitoring committee comprising a retired Supreme Court judge, cybersecurity experts and forensic specialists to oversee the re-conduct of the examination.
Government Security Plan For June 21
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high-level review meeting and directed officials to fill all the loopholes found in the previous examination and ensure that the re-exam is held under strict and foolproof security arrangements. The NTA has been asked to strengthen the monitoring systems and work in close coordination with the district administrations and police authorities in each state. On the reform front, the agency said, NEET-UG will move to Computer-Based Test mode from next year, a landmark change in India’s largest medical entrance examination system.
