NEET-UG paper leak: SC asks Centre, NTA how breach occurred despite monitoring

The Supreme Court on Friday (May 29) posted sharp questions to the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the NEET-UG paper leak, asking how such a breach could occur despite the existence of monitoring systems and oversight mechanisms intended to protect the integrity of the examination process.

During the hearing, a bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha examined the implementation of recommendations made by the High-Level Committee chaired by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan.

The court took note of affidavits filed by the NTA and Dr Radhakrishnan, while granting additional time to the Centre to submit its response.

Role of committee

Justice Narasimha pointed out that Dr Radhakrishnan had initially served on the High-Powered Committee and was later involved in monitoring the implementation of the panel’s recommendations.

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The court observed that the occurrence of a paper leak despite such oversight raised concerns about whether the monitoring process itself had functioned effectively.

"If this failure occurred despite monitoring, there must be some lapse in monitoring," the bench remarked as quoted by India Today.

Questions on lapses

The judges further questioned what weaknesses or gaps may have escaped the committee’s attention and ultimately enabled the breach to take place despite the safeguards that had been proposed.

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The court also sought an explanation on whether the recommendations had been implemented in their intended form and whether any vulnerabilities remained unaddressed within the examination system.

101 recommendations

According to submissions made before the court, the committee had put forward 101 recommendations, including 60 short-term measures intended for implementation during the 2025-26 examination cycle.

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However, the top court stressed accountability for the lapses in the NEET paper leak issue and said it was “actually very traumatic” not only for the students but for their families as well if something like this happened.

‘Trauma for families’

“We should not disappoint our youngsters,” said the bench.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that the government is seriously concerned about the concerns of the youths and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally supervising the situation so that there is no lacunae.

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"The real problem won't stop till actual accountability arises,” the bench observed.

“It is actually very traumatic if something like this happens, not just for the students, but also their families and everybody,” the bench said, adding, “They invest so much emotion.” Mehta told the bench that some new mechanisms have been put in place for the NEET-UG re-test scheduled for June 21.

Matter posted to July

Asked the Centre to file an affidavit in the matter, the bench posted the matter for hearing in the second week of July.

On May 12, the NTA cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of a paper leak. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.

The paper leak allegations are under investigation by the CBI.

(With agency inputs)