The Supreme Court on Wednesday (June 17, 2026) deferred to July the hearing of a plea challenging the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) decision to re-conduct NEET-UG 2026 for nearly 22 lakh candidates.

The NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally held on May 3, was cancelled nationwide on May 12 following allegations of paper leak. Consequently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched a probe, and a fresh examination has been scheduled for June 21.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana directed that the matter be listed before a Bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha, which is already hearing a batch of cases related to the NEET examination.

However, Justice Narasimha’s Bench is scheduled to sit only after the Supreme Court resumes regular sittings on July 13, effectively rendering the plea infructuous.

The plea, filed by former Assistant Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr. Mangala Kohli, seeks to quash the decision to re-conduct NEET-UG 2026. It contends that the blanket cancellation of the examination and the decision to hold a nationwide re-test unfairly penalise lakhs of bona fide candidates who had no connection with the paper leak.

“The petitioner submits that while allegations concerning paper leaks and examination malpractice are serious and require strict investigation and exemplary action against every person involved, the constitutional rights and legitimate interests of lakhs of bona fide candidates cannot be sacrificed owing to institutional and administrative failures attributable to the examination-conducting authority itself,” the plea states.

The petition also seeks directions to the Centre and other authorities to introduce secure, technology-driven examination and evaluation systems for future national-level examinations, including encrypted digital question delivery mechanisms, biometric authentication, AI-assisted monitoring, and robust computer-based testing infrastructure.

It further seeks the constitution of an independent expert committee to examine institutional limitations in the functioning of the NTA and recommend corrective measures.

As an interim measure, the petitioner has sought a stay on the decision to conduct the NEET-UG re-test pending the final adjudication of the case.

Earlier, the Bench led by Justice Narasimha had raised serious concerns over the cancellation of the examination following the allegations of paper leak, describing the development as “very traumatic” for students and their families. The court had underscored the need for accountability in the face of lapses affecting lakhs of candidates.

“The real problem will not stop till there is actual accountability. Not in terms of so and so will be liable; it will be effective when we know which individual shoulders the responsibility. Unless you identify the specific duty-bearers, it will be difficult,” Justice Narasimha had observed.

The Bench had also directed the Union government and the NTA to place on record the measures taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents.