In a significant development for medical aspirants across the country, the Supreme Court has declined to halt the upcoming re-examination for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026, scheduled for June 21. The apex court instead directed a petition challenging the cancellation of the original examination to be heard by a larger bench on July 17.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana heard the matter on Wednesday but refrained from issuing any interim order on the plea seeking to quash the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) decision to conduct the retest. The judges observed that the issue should be considered alongside a batch of related petitions already pending before another bench led by Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha.
The original NEET-UG 2026 examination, held on May 3, was cancelled by the NTA following reports of a question paper leak. The agency subsequently announced the re-examination for June 21 to ensure the integrity of the admission process for undergraduate medical courses. The leak is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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The petition before the court was filed by Mangala Kohli, a former assistant director-general of health services. She argued that cancelling the May 3 exam was unfair, as it penalised lakhs of honest students who had no involvement in any malpractice or organised racket. Kohli sought directions to set aside the cancellation and the planned retest.
The Supreme Court’s decision provides immediate relief to the examination process, allowing preparations for the retest to continue uninterrupted. Security measures for the re-examination have already been stepped up, with reports of question papers being transported under tight protocols, including the use of Indian Air Force helicopters in certain regions for secure distribution.
This development comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the medical entrance examination system. The larger bench headed by Justice Narasimha, which is examining multiple petitions related to the controversy, will now address the broader issues surrounding the paper leak allegations and their implications for the affected candidates. The outcome of the July 17 hearing is expected to carry significant weight for the future conduct of such high-stakes national tests.