.png)
The Supreme Court on Monday heavily criticized the National Testing Agency (NTA) regarding the NEET paper leak case. The court remarked, "It is unfortunate that the NTA has learned no lessons from the previous paper leak incident."
A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe was hearing petitions filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), United Doctors Front (UDF), and others on Monday. During the hearing, they stated:
"This matter had reached the Supreme Court in 2024 as well. A committee was formed then, which made several recommendations that were also accepted."
The court directed the NTA to file an affidavit by Thursday explaining what steps have been taken regarding the directives issued in 2024 and the recommendations of the monitoring committee. The court has also sought responses from the Central Government and the CBI.
Demands in FAIMA's Petition
-
System Overhaul: Replace the NTA with a robust and autonomous system to conduct NEET-UG, or completely restructure the current body. Repeated paper leaks have directly impacted the fundamental rights of over 22.7 lakh students.
-
Interim Oversight: Until a new institution is formed, a high-power monitoring committee should be established to oversee the re-examination. This committee should be chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge and include cybersecurity experts and forensic scientists to prevent future leaks.
.png)
Demands by United Doctors Front (UDF)
-
Dissolve the current NTA system entirely.
-
Establish a new National Testing Agency.
Background: What is the NEET Paper Leak Case?
The NEET-UG exam was conducted on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 centers abroad, with approximately 23 lakh candidates participating. According to the NTA, reports of irregularities in the exam were received on the evening of May 7. Subsequently, the investigation was handed over to central agencies.
On May 12, the exam was officially canceled, and a decision to conduct a re-exam was made. By May 15, the Ministry of Education and the NTA announced that the NEET re-exam would take place on May 21.
Timeline of the Last 3 Days
May 25: Manisha Hawaldar Produced in Delhi Court Accused Manisha Sanjay Hawaldar in the NEET-UG paper leak case was produced before Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court. She was arrested in Pune, Maharashtra, and is accused of leaking the Physics paper prior to the examination.
May 24: Accused Shubham Khairnar Sent to Judicial Custody Till June 6 Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court remanded accused Shubham Khairnar to judicial custody until June 6. Earlier, on May 20, Khairnar's CBI custody was extended by five days. Prior to that, on May 14, the court had sent five accused, including Khairnar, to a 7-day CBI remand. The investigative agency maintained that his further interrogation was necessary to identify and arrest other individuals who purchased the NEET-UG 2026 paper.
May 23: Physics Lecturer Manisha Sanjay Hawaldar Suspended Seth Hiralal Saraswati Prashala, a school in Maharashtra, suspended Senior Physics Lecturer Manisha Sanjay Hawaldar following allegations of her involvement in the NEET paper leak. School Secretary Dr. Satish Gawade informed that Manisha had been serving as a physics lecturer at the institute since 1992. Holding MSc and B.Ed degrees, she was scheduled to retire on June 30.
.png)
