New Delhi, May 25: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) on a batch of petitions seeking major reforms in the country’s examination system following allegations of a paper leak in the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
The pleas, including one filed by the United Doctors Front (UDF), have sought dissolution of the NTA and demanded that the examination be reconducted under the supervision of a panel headed by a former Supreme Court judge.
During the hearing, a bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha orally remarked that the NTA appeared to have “not learned its lesson” despite the apex court’s earlier intervention in the NEET controversy. “Sadly, they have not learned their lesson,” the bench observed.
The Court noted that after the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, a high-powered committee had been constituted, its recommendations accepted, and a monitoring mechanism put in place to oversee reforms in the examination process.
The bench directed the NTA to submit an affidavit detailing the current status of compliance with the reforms and monitoring measures ordered earlier by the Court.
The Supreme Court also asked K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the monitoring committee formed pursuant to earlier directions, to file an affidavit outlining the progress made in implementing the reforms.
“List this matter on Thursday,” the Court ordered.
The petitions have sought sweeping structural changes, including replacing the NTA with a new statutory body established through an Act of Parliament, citing repeated allegations of irregularities in national-level entrance examinations.
The apex court further directed that copies of the petitions be served to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, and other respondent authorities.
Following the hearing, United Doctors Front chairperson Dr. Lakshya Mittal said the Court’s observations reflected the growing concerns raised by students and stakeholders over the integrity of the examination system.
“UDF remains committed to ensuring transparency, accountability and structural reforms in the examination system,” Mittal said.
