New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined an urgent hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) decision to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 examination and conduct a nationwide re-test for nearly 22 lakh candidates.

When the matter was mentioned for urgent listing before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, it was submitted that the plea questioned the blanket cancellation of the May 3 examination and sought relief for lakhs of candidates who were not connected with the alleged paper leak.

However, CJI Kant refused to grant an urgent hearing, observing that petitions relating to NEET-UG 2026 were already being heard by a Bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha. The CJI said that matters concerning NEET were being considered by another Bench and that the present petition would also be listed before the same Bench in July.

The PIL has been filed by Dr Mangala Kohli, a former Assistant Director General of Health Services, through Advocate-on-Record Abhishek Chandra Mishra.

The petition questions the NTA’s decision to cancel NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3 and order a fresh examination across the country following allegations of paper leaks and examination malpractice.

According to the plea, while allegations of examination fraud require strict investigation and exemplary action against those 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.”

According to the plea, investigations by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have so far indicated a “localised operational compromise through specific organised networks” rather than evidence of contamination of the entire examination process nationwide.

Referring to the decision to cancel the examination, the plea said that NTA had compelled “approximately 22 lakh students, including overwhelmingly bona fide and meritorious candidates having no connection whatsoever with the alleged malpractice, to once again undergo the rigours of a national-level competitive examination”.

It further said that the decision had caused “severe academic, mental and financial hardship to lakhs of students” and disrupted the larger medical admission process across the country.

Besides challenging the re-test, the PIL has sought institutional, structural and technological reforms in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations, including independent oversight mechanisms, enhanced security safeguards and a transition towards technology-driven examination systems incorporating encrypted digital question delivery, biometric authentication and AI-assisted monitoring.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court declined to direct the NTA to conduct the June 21 re-examination in a computer-based test (CBT) mode. A Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Aravind Kumar observed that such a direction could not be granted at that stage when authorities were already engaged in conducting the fresh examination and posted the matter for hearing in July, along with other pleas seeking reforms in the functioning of the NTA.

The re-test is scheduled to be held on June 21 in the existing pen-and-paper format, with admit cards having already been issued.

Meanwhile, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh on Tuesday assured aspirants that the re-examination would be conducted in a secure and error-free manner, while cautioning students and parents against social media rackets claiming to sell “leaked papers” for hefty sums.

In a video message, Singh said there was “no leaked paper for the re-exam” and warned candidates against falling prey to fraudsters operating through Telegram channels.

He said the temporary suspension of the Telegram application till June 22 was aimed at curbing fake news and misleading claims relating to the examination.

The NTA chief also said that the Indian Air Force was assisting with logistics to compress the time required for the secure movement of question papers and ensure the smooth conduct of the re-test within 37 days of the cancellation of the original examination.

–IANS

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