New Delhi, May 29: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday defended before the Supreme Court its decision to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 examination and conduct a re-test, stating that the move was taken to protect students’ interests and maintain public confidence in the country’s national examination system amid allegations of malpractice.
In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the NTA said the cancellation of the May 3 medical entrance examination and the subsequent referral of the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reflected the seriousness with which examination integrity was being treated by both the agency and the Union government.
The affidavit was submitted in response to a batch of petitions seeking reforms in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG), following renewed concerns over examination security and transparency.
According to the NTA, the examination conducted on May 3 involved more than 22 lakh candidates appearing at 5,432 centres across 552 Indian cities and 14 overseas locations. The agency informed the court that the examination had been conducted under an enhanced security system that included biometric verification, AI-assisted CCTV monitoring and mobile jammers.
The NTA stated that information regarding alleged malpractice surfaced on the evening of May 7. The matter was escalated to central agencies the next morning for verification, following which the examination was cancelled and referred to the CBI for investigation.
“The decision was taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests,” the affidavit stated.
The agency also informed the Supreme Court that it had acted “in good faith, with due diligence and in accordance with law” to safeguard the integrity of the examination process while protecting the interests of genuine candidates.
The affidavit was filed following the Supreme Court’s May 25 direction asking the NTA to provide details regarding the implementation status of recommendations made by the high-powered committee headed by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan after the NEET-UG 2024 controversy.
The NTA told the court that several reforms suggested by the committee had either been implemented or were in advanced stages of execution. These include Aadhaar-based biometric authentication, AI-enabled CCTV surveillance, installation of mobile jammers at examination centres and multi-level coordination mechanisms involving district and state authorities.
The agency further informed the court that the re-examination scheduled for June 21 would be conducted under a stricter security framework with coordination from Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police, District Magistrates, the Department of Posts and other agencies.
The NTA also reiterated before the court that the expert committee had recommended transitioning NEET-UG from pen-and-paper mode to a computer-based test (CBT) format. It stated that the shift would be introduced from the next examination cycle in consultation with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre and the NTA on petitions seeking structural reforms in the examination process and an immediate transition to CBT mode, observing that concerns regarding examination integrity had resurfaced despite previous controversies.
When the matter came up for hearing on Friday, proceedings were deferred as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was appearing before another Bench.
