Parliamentary panel summons NTA, education ministry, CBI over NEET paper leak

New Delhi: After the National Testing Agency's (NTA) earlier remarks that the NEET paper 2026 was 'not leaked through the its system', which triggered widespread criticism, the Parliamentary Standing Committee has summoned officials from the Union Education Ministry, the NTA, and the CBI to appear before it regarding assurances related to the conduct of examinations by the exam body.

According to a notice issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on May 27, the Committee on Government Assurances will hear the views of Vineet Joshi, Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, along with Abhishek Singh, Director General of NTA and Praveen Sood, Director of CBI.

The committee meeting is scheduled for 11 am on Friday.

The matter pertains to an assurance given in Rajya Sabha in reply to an unstarred question (USQ) dated November 27, 2024, regarding "Conduct of Examination by NTA", the notice said.

Also read- NEET 2026 paper leak: CBI may turn Latur's coaching institute's founder's ward as star witness

In its written reply to the question in November, 2024, the Education Ministry had stated that, as informed by NTA, contracts for conducting examinations are awarded to agencies "as per the extant rules, orders and guidelines issued by the Government of India".

The ministry had also informed the House that complaints against vendors are dealt with in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down in the work order or tender document, and action ranges from deduction of payment to debarment" upon ascertaining deficiency of service.

On the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case, the ministry had said the CBI was conducting a "comprehensive investigation into the entire gamut of alleged irregularities, including conspiracy, cheating, breach of trust, etc.," and had filed five charge sheets against 45 accused as of November 22, 2024.

The NEET-UG for admissions into medical courses took place on May 3 this year, but was cancelled by the NTA on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak. The CBI is currently investigating this matter, arresting 13 accused in total, and a retest is scheduled for June 21.

The committee will also hear the views of Secretary of Union Health and Family Welfare Punya Salila Srivastava, National Medical Commission (NMC) chairman Abhijat Chandrakant Sheth and CBI Director regarding an assurance given in reply to Rajya Sabha USQ dated 29 July, 2025 regarding "Medical College Scam", according to the notice.

On the "Medical College Scam", the Health Ministry, in a written reply, had informed Rajya Sabha in July 2025 that the CBI had lodged an FIR in New Delhi under provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with alleged irregularities involving dummy faculty, fake inspections and falsified patient records.

The ministry had said the matter was under investigation by the CBI.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Members of Parliament on May 21 sharply questioned top National Testing Agency officials over the alleged NEET UG 2026 paper leak during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.

NTA Director General Abhishek Singh told the panel that the NEET paper was “not leaked through the NTA system” and said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was probing the matter.

NEET cancelled

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.

However, on May 12, 2026, the NTA declared the examination held on May 3 cancelled and subsequently announced a re-examination on June 21, 2026.

This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination. The investigation found that the leaked papers were circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups ahead of the NEET UG 2026 examination.

Due to the alleged controversy, the central government decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. Based on the centre's direction, the CBI registered an FIR in the case and has so far arrested 13 people.

Also read- No leak from system, CBI probing matter- NTA tells Parliamentary panel over NEET 2026 row