NEET paper leaks traumatic for students and families, institutions must learn, says SC

The Supreme Court on Friday, May 29, 2026, said the NEET-UG 2024 and 2026 document leaks had traumatized students and their families and emphasized the need for institutions like the National Testing Agency (NTA) to improve institutional memory and accountability to prevent similar incidents in future.

A Bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha observed that the leaks had undermined years of hard work and emotional investment by the students and their families. “It’s actually traumatic for something like this to happen. It’s traumatic, not just for the students, but for their families as well. There’s years of investment of emotion and work and it’s gone… But the problem is certainly not beyond us,” Justice Narasimha said.

The court said one of the key problems faced by many institutions in India, including the NTA, is impermanence and chronic lack of institutional memory.

“There are some of the best officers running these institutions. But they are transferred and they take their experience and know-how with them. The knowledge is not transferred to the next set of people who will run the institution. It is not the individual who should have the memory, the institution should preserve their memories, experiences and learn from them,” Justice Narasimha said.

The bench directed the Center, through the Ministry of Education, to submit a statement within six weeks detailing the measures it proposes to take to prevent future examination leaks and strengthen institutional capacity within the NTA.

The Ministry was also asked to specify the steps taken to retain expert personnel, preserve institutional memory and ensure expert majority in the conduct of NEET exams.

“This effort is to ensure that NTA is physically and intellectually equipped to ensure that incidents like the NEET-UG 2024 and 2026 exams do not happen again,” Justice Narasimha said. The high court has scheduled the next hearing on the matter in the second week of July.

The court also emphasized the need for effective accountability, observing that the NTA should take a lesson from the Union Public Service Commission, which has never been in such a situation.

“The real problem will not end until there is real accountability. There will be no accountability on the part of this or that individual, it will be effective when we know which individual has taken the responsibility. Unless you identify specific duty bearers, it will be difficult,” Justice Narasimha said.

Speaking on behalf of the NTA, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said he was “personally investigating” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to cheat the NEET-UG examination system.

The cancellation of NEET-UG 2026, held on May 3, has left nearly 23 lakh candidates facing uncertainty about their academic future.

The observations came as NTA filed an affidavit in the top court on remedial steps taken following the NEET-UG paper leak.

The agency said the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 and transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reflects the seriousness with which examination integrity is being treated by both the NTA and the Union government.

NTA said the decision to cancel the exam was taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust placed in the national examination system. He added that the agency has extended full cooperation with the CBI in the ongoing investigation.

According to the affidavit, NTA has overhauled various aspects of the examination system, including question paper preparation, printing, transportation and storage protocols.

Among the major changes, the agency introduced multiple sets of question papers and one set was kept as a backup. Instead of the traditional A, B, C and D series, essays will now carry special long codes and the order of answer options will vary across different groups.

Printing protocols have been tightened through verification, monitoring and security regulations, the affidavit said. A designated senior official will oversee the entire printing process and the use of electronic devices is now banned. All CCTV recordings will also be preserved.

Transportation of question papers is now done through India Post (a government organisation) with a chain of custody protocol, NTA said. The papers will be escorted from the printing house to the nodal centers by the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF). India Post will then transfer the documents to the district officers and then the District Police will take them to the examination centres.

NTA said it has also issued detailed guidelines on receipt and storage of question papers by custodial banks. In the affidavit, it was stated that the ballot boxes would be received by the Exam City Manager and kept in a safe place, and access would be limited to authorized personnel. They can be opened in a designated safe room or control room 45 minutes before the start of the exam.

The affidavit also stated that Confidential Operations (CONOPs) guidelines have been operationalized. While a special area will be created for confidential work in the office, those who prepare the question papers will be isolated in insulated rooms without internet or mobile access. The rooms will be self-contained with storage space and a pantry. The rough studies produced during the process will be shredded and the question papers will be stored encrypted on the main computer at the command center. The encryption algorithms used for question distribution are also updated regularly.

The NTA informed the court that the re-examination, scheduled for June 21, will be conducted under a strengthened standard operating procedure (SOP) framework that includes multi-layer authentication, enhanced oversight and inter-agency coordination.

Dr. NTA Reforms Chairman of the High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC), who was present in the court. K. Radhakrishnan said a comprehensive “clean-up” of systemic issues plaguing the management of NEET-UG is underway. In a separate statement, he noted that NEET-UG 2025 was conducted satisfactorily following the incorporation of recommendations made by the High Level Committee of Experts.

It was published – 29 May 2026 13:48 IST