NTA cancels 2026 NEET (UG); CBI opens investigation into 'paper leak'

Centre cancels medical entrance exam and orders CBI-led investigation into alleged leak

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2026, or NEET (UG), examination conducted on May 3 amid allegations of a question paper leak, with the Centre ordering a comprehensive probe led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The NTA said fresh examination dates would be announced separately, triggering protests from students.

 

“NTA, with the approval of the Government of India, has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on May 3, 2026, and re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately,” the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

 

“The inputs received by NTA, taken together with the findings shared by law enforcement agencies, established that the present examination process could not be allowed to stand,” the central exam-conducting body said in the statement. It added that all registration data, candidature details, and examination centres chosen by candidates in the May 2026 cycle would be carried forward. No fresh registration would be required and no additional examination fee would be charged.

 

“In addition, fees already paid will be refunded to students, and the exam will be re-conducted using NTA’s internal resources,” the statement said.

 

The cancellation affects over 2.4 million medical aspirants and comes amid fresh questions over the conduct of national-level entrance examinations by NTA. It also triggered protests by student groups in parts of Delhi, including near Shastri Bhawan, where police deployment was increased amid demonstrations demanding accountability and structural reforms in the examination system. Student organisations, including the National Students’ Union of India and Students’ Federation of India, staged protests in multiple cities. Various Opposition leaders also demanded an overhaul of NTA amid repeated lapses.

 

While Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan did not respond to media queries on the cancellation, NTA described the situation as a serious concern for students, parents, and the broader education ecosystem. “I understand that more than 200,000 people were involved in the examination system. This is distressing for everyone involved. We take responsibility for what has happened; it was wrong. We are cancelling it and preparing to conduct it again with the assurance that such incidents will not be repeated,” NTA Director-General Abhishek Singh told PTI. He said the new schedule for the re-examination would be announced within the “next seven to 10 days”.

 

NTA on Sunday had said question papers were transported in GPS-tracked vehicles carrying unique, traceable watermark identifiers, while examination centres were monitored through artificial intelligence-assisted CCTV surveillance from a central control room.

 

The move comes against the backdrop of earlier controversies involving NTA-conducted entrance examinations. The NEET (UG) 2024 case saw allegations of paper leaks and irregularities in grace marks, triggering protests, legal challenges before the Supreme Court, and multiple arrests in Bihar and Gujarat. While the court did not order a nationwide retest, it observed that the sanctity of the examination had been compromised in some cases, and parts of the probe were later handed to CBI.

 

The episode also led to disruptions in other national exams. In June 2024, University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) was cancelled after inputs suggested a possible compromise of question papers, while Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-UGC NET was postponed and NEET (Postgraduate) deferred as a precaution.

 

Following these incidents, the government enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and set up a high-level committee headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K Radhakrishnan to recommend reforms. Despite these steps, NTA has continued to face criticism over repeated technical and operational issues in several examinations, including Common University Entrance Test (UG) in 2025 and 2026.

 

On Tuesday evening, CBI registered a first information report in the case under Sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft, and destruction of evidence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The agency deployed multiple teams to different locations to collect evidence and coordinate with state police units.

 

Preliminary inputs being examined by investigators include allegations of overlap between a circulated “guess paper” and the actual NEET (UG) question paper. Authorities in Rajasthan have claimed that a large number of questions from the circulated material matched the examination paper. In a related development, a man was detained in Maharashtra’s Nashik in connection with the alleged leak, and officials said a Rajasthan Police team was expected to take custody of him for further questioning. 

 

(With inputs from PTI)