In a significant development,the Supreme Court on Monday refused to direct the NTA to conduct re-test of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG 2026, scheduled on June 21, through a Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode instead of the existing pen-and-paper format.
Expressing disinclination to grant the relief, the bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Aravind Kumar posted the matter to July, effectively denying the relief for the NEET re-test. The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh seeking various reliefs in relation to the NEET exam.
Today, the petitioner's counsel submitted that he was pressing only the prayer seeking the conduct of the re-examination in CBT mode. "Today I am not pressing any other prayer. It should be CBT," the counsel submitted. However, Justice Narasimha observed that the Court had already dismissed similar pleas in the past. "Similar matters we have dismissed already," Justice Narasimha remarked.
In response, the counsel submitted that the authorities were proceeding with the examination process on a physical basis for the re-test on June 21. The Bench, however, pointed to the practical difficulties faced by the examination authorities. Justice Narasimha observed that there was "no question" of granting such relief at this stage, adding that the authorities were already dealing with significant challenges.
The judge further noted the pressures under which the authorities were functioning and reiterated that similar petitions had previously been rejected. "The kind of pressure that they have, similar matters we have dismissed," Justice Narasimha observed. When the counsel again stated that he was only pressing the CBT-related prayer, the Bench indicated that it would not take up the matter immediately.
"We will keep it after vacation," Justice Narasimha said, adjourning the matter. The petition has been tagged along with other pleas which seek reforms in the National Testing Agency. Last month, the bench led by Justice Narasimha, while hearing another set of petitions, had expressed anguish at the NEET-UG cancellation, and sought reports from the Union and the NTA on the steps taken to strengthen the examination system based on the recommendations made by an earlier Court-appointed committee.
The present petition was filed in the backdrop of the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 exam held on May 3 due to the detection of widespread paper leak. The petition sought sweeping reforms in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) [NEET-UG], including a direction to conduct the examination through a Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode instead of the existing pen-and-paper format.
It also sought a time-bound roadmap for transitioning NEET-UG to a fully computer-based examination system, including details of infrastructure development, examination centres, cybersecurity safeguards and measures to ensure accessibility for candidates. The petition also called for structural reforms in the examination system. Among the reliefs sought was a direction to the Union Government to replace the National Testing Agency (NTA) with an independent statutory National Examination Authority equipped with technological safeguards, institutional accountability and oversight mechanisms.
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