Story highlights

The Supreme Court on May 25 issued notices to the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) on a batch of petitions seeking the dissolution of the examination body over allegations of paper leaks in the NEET-UG 2026 examination.

A bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha also asked the NTA to place on record the status of reforms and monitoring mechanisms introduced after last year’s NEET controversy, remarking orally that the agency appeared not to have “learnt its lesson”.

“It’s sad that they have not learned their lesson,” the bench observed during the hearing.

The petitions, including one filed by the United Doctors Front (UDF), have sought a re-examination under the supervision of a panel headed by a former Supreme Court judge. They have also called for wider structural reforms, including replacing the NTA with a statutory body created through an Act of Parliament.

The Court noted that a high-powered committee had already been constituted following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, and that its recommendations had been accepted with a monitoring mechanism put in place to oversee implementation.

Directing the NTA to file an affidavit, the bench sought details on compliance with the reforms ordered earlier by the Court. It also asked K Radhakrishnan, chairman of the monitoring committee, to submit an affidavit on the implementation status of the directions issued previously.

The matter has been listed for hearing on Thursday.

The Court further directed that copies of the petitions be served on Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, and other respondent authorities in the case.

Following the hearing, United Doctors Front chairperson Dr Lakshya Mittal said the Court’s observations reflected growing concerns among students and stakeholders over alleged irregularities in national-level entrance examinations.

“UDF remains committed to ensuring transparency, accountability and structural reforms in the examination system,” Mittal said.