New Delhi, July 24: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to submit a comprehensive roadmap for institutional reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), saying it would closely monitor the government’s measures to strengthen the examination system and prevent future paper leaks.
Hearing a batch of petitions seeking structural reforms in the conduct of the NEET-UG examination following the alleged 2026 paper leak controversy, a Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe asked the Union government to file a detailed affidavit addressing proposed reforms, examination security measures, cybersecurity safeguards and the feasibility of shifting NEET to a computer-based testing (CBT) mode.
The matter was posted for further hearing on July 27 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought time to present what he described as a holistic picture of the reforms being undertaken by the Centre.
The Bench said the affidavit should specifically explain the institutional changes proposed for the NTA. It also sought details on the structure of the agency’s governing board, measures to improve transparency and stakeholder participation, and the proposed involvement of domain experts, including institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, in strengthening the examination framework.
Referring to the recommendations of the high-powered committee headed by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, the court asked the Centre to explain how the proposed reforms would be implemented.
Responding to the court, the Solicitor General said the Centre would place on record the entire examination process, beginning from the printing of question papers until they reach candidates. He stated that the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee had been fully accepted and said the government was taking additional steps to address concerns raised by students under the supervision of the highest executive level.
The Bench observed that temporary arrangements could not become a permanent solution. It noted that while extraordinary measures had been deployed in the past, the examination system required lasting institutional reforms rather than ad hoc responses.
The court also sought a detailed explanation on whether NEET could eventually be conducted entirely through computer-based testing. It directed the Centre to explain how digital examination data would be protected and what cybersecurity architecture would be adopted to secure such a system.
The Solicitor General assured the Bench that the government remained open to constructive suggestions from the court and would incorporate them without reservation.
Stating that it would closely monitor the reform process throughout the year, the Supreme Court said complete institutionalisation of the examination system was essential.
The petitions before the court seek structural reforms in NEET-UG, including transition to computer-based testing, stronger statutory accountability of the NTA, enhanced technological safeguards and measures to prevent recurring paper leaks. The hearing comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre had prepared a draft legislation proposing stricter punishment, fast-track courts and stronger institutional accountability for paper leak cases.
