'From Printing Till Students Get The Paper': Centre Seeks To Explain NEET-UG Process To Supreme Court

Home / Top Stories 'From Printing Till Students Get The Paper': Centre Seeks To Explain NEET-UG Process To Supreme Court X Supreme Court hears NTA reform pleas as Centre seeks to explain the entire NEET-UG examination process, from printing question papers to their delivery to students The Centre sought time to explain the safeguards followed in the NEET-UG examination process, from printing question papers to their distribution, as the Supreme Court heard petitions seeking reforms in the NTA The Supreme Court on Monday began hearing a batch of petitions seeking sweeping reforms in the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) following recurring controversies over alleged NEET-UG paper leaks . The Bench led by Justice P.S. Narasimha also took up a separate plea seeking directions to conduct the NEET-UG examination in a computer-based mode . At the outset, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta , appearing for the Union of India along with Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati , requested the Bench to take up the matter on a Thursday or Friday to enable the Centre to make a detailed presentation on the examination process. "I had a request. Kindly consider having it on a Thursday or Friday. We wish to explain to Your Lordships, if permitted, the system which we follow from printing till students get the paper ," Mehta submitted. Responding to the request, Justice Narasimha observed, "Yes. Okay. We would also like to know." The Centre's request comes as the Supreme Court examines demands for structural reforms in the NTA, with the petitions highlighting concerns over the integrity and security of the NEET-UG examination process in light of repeated paper leak allegations. The Bench is expected to hear the Union's detailed explanation of the safeguards and procedures followed in the printing, transportation and distribution of NEET-UG question papers before proceeding further with the reform pleas. Apart from the batch seeking systemic reforms in the NTA, the Court is also hearing a petition filed by Sudhakar Singh , seeking a direction that NEET-UG be conducted in a computer-based mode instead of the existing pen-and-paper format. The matter will continue before the Supreme Court on the next date of hearing. The plea filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh through AoR Neema seeks directions to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) [NEET UG] 2026 re-examination through the Computer Based Test (CBT) mode, contending that the existing pen-and-paper system has repeatedly failed to safeguard the integrity of the country's largest medical entrance examination. The petition seeks urgent intervention from the top court to direct the Union of India and the National Testing Agency (NTA) to adopt a secure digital examination architecture and technological safeguards to preserve the integrity of NEET UG. According to the plea, the issue concerns the "fairness, transparency and credibility of the national medical admission process affecting more than 22 lakh medical aspirants, whose future admission to undergraduate medical courses is solely dependent upon NEET-UG." The petition refers to the events surrounding NEET UG 2026, which was conducted on May 3, 2026, alleging that question papers and "guess papers" were circulated through digital platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram before the examination. It states that the National Testing Agency cancelled the examination on May 12, 2026, after investigative inputs indicated that the integrity of the examination had been compromised. "The cancellation of an examination affecting more than 22 lakh candidates demonstrates that the integrity of the examination process stood compromised and that the existing examination mechanism failed to preserve confidentiality and security of examination material, " the plea states. The petitioner argues that the controversy is not an isolated incident but part of a continuing pattern of examination security failures under the NTA. T