Supreme Court rejects plea against NEET 2026 retest, says matter now infructuous

New Delhi: With the NEET UG 2026 re-exam results awaited and the counselling process set to begin soon, the Supreme Court today dismissed a petition challenging the National Testing Agency (NTA) decision to cancel the May 3 NEET UG 2026 exam and conduct a nationwide re-test, holding that the matter had become infructuous as the examination had already been held.

While hearing the petition filed by former Assistant Director General of Health Services (DGHS), a Division Bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe observed that since the re-examination had already taken place on June 21, there was no purpose in deciding the challenge to the cancellation of the earlier exam.

During the hearing, the counsel of the petitioner, however submitted that although the re-examination had already been conducted, they have also sought institutional reforms within the NTA. She requested that the matter be tagged with other pending petitions raising larger issues on NEET examination.

Responding to this, Justice Narasimha orally said, "This petition has become infructuous. We will consider it; implead yourself with the pending matter."

NEET Cancelled

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held 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.

In the aftermath of the exam cancellation, protests were held, with aspirants and members of the medical fraternity condemning NTA and the Education Ministry for the failure.

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 so far arrested 13 people.

Today's hearing

The petition had been filed by Dr Mangala Kohli, former Assistant Director General of Health Services (DGHS). She challenged the NTA's decision to cancel the NEET UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3 after allegations of a paper leak and examination malpractice, and to hold a fresh test for nearly 22 lakh candidates.

The petition contended that a blanket cancellation of the examination and a nationwide re-test unfairly penalises lakhs of bona fide candidates who had no connection with the alleged irregularities.

"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 stated as per Live Law report.

It was argued that the alleged malpractice, based on material disclosed during the investigation, appeared to be confined to identified persons, centres and organised networks rather than the entire examination process. The petition contends that the decision to order a re-examination is arbitrary, excessive and disproportionate, violating Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution.

The petition further sought structural and technological reforms in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations. Among other reliefs, it seeks directions for implementation of secure digital examination and evaluation systems, including encrypted digital question delivery, biometric authentication, AI-assisted monitoring and computer-based examination infrastructure. It also seeks the constitution of an independent expert committee to examine institutional and operational deficiencies within the NTA.

Last month, the Supreme Court had refused to urgently list pleas concerning the re-conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 examination scheduled for June 21, reiterating that all matters relating to the examination stand assigned to a Bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha.

Similarly, the Supreme Court had also declined to shift the June 21 re-test to a computer-based format but observed that recurring NEET controversies highlight the need for structural reforms and fixed accountability within the NTA to prevent similar crises in future.

Also read- No immediate relief for NEET 2026 aspirants as Supreme Court defers retest challenge hearing