New Delhi, May 12: The NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3 was cancelled on Tuesday amid allegations of paper leak with the CBI registering an FIR after the government asked it to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the “irregularities”.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges, said fresh dates will be notified in the “next seven to 10 days”.
The cancellation triggered nationwide outrage among medical aspirants, with students raising questions on NTA’s competence and demanding that the exam be conducted by AIIMS-Delhi.
The Opposition also attacked the Centre, alleging administrative failure, insensitivity toward students and “repeated lapses” in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations. It too demanded an overhaul of the NTA.
The day also saw protests by activists of NSUI, SFI and other organisations at several places.
Though Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan did not respond to media queries on the cancellation, the NTA said this is a matter of concern for the children, for their parents, and for the entire ecosystem.
In the evening, the CBI registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and under the Public Examination Prevention of Unfair Means Act 2024.
The agency dispatched multiple special teams to various locations and will also collect material from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police.
The Rajasthan Police SOG had claimed that a “guess paper” for chemistry that was allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination had approximately 410 questions and roughly 120 of these were in the question paper.
In Maharashtra’s Nashik, a man was detained in connection with the paper leak. Nashik Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirankumar Chauhan said a team of Rajasthan Police would arrive in the city to take his custody.
Earlier in the day, the NTA, in a statement on X, said the decision to cancel the exam was taken in the interest of maintaining transparency and preserving trust in the national examination system.
The examination was conducted on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad with nearly 23 lakh candidates appearing nationwide with a turnout of 96.92 per cent.
The agency said the inputs received, taken together with findings shared by law enforcement agencies, established that the “present examination process could not be allowed to stand”.
Later, talking to reporters, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said, “Paper leaks must end with immediate effect. It is unfortunate that we are at this stage. This is a matter of concern for the children of our country, for their parents, and for the entire ecosystem.
“I understand that more than two lakh people were involved in the examination system. This is distressing for everyone involved. We take responsibility for what has happened; it was wrong. We are cancelling it and preparing to conduct it again with the assurance that such incidents will not be repeated…”
He said the new schedule for the re-examination would be announced within the “next seven to ten days”.
There was shock, frustration and anger among NEET aspirants, parents and coaching teachers across the country.
Several opposition leaders took to X questioning the functioning of the NTA and demanding accountability over the recurring controversies surrounding entrance tests.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targetted the government over the cancellation, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s so-called ‘amrit kaal’ has turned into a ‘vish kaal’ (poison-filled era) for the country.
He said the hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of more than 22 lakh students have been “crushed by this corrupt BJP regime”.
In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “The NEET 2026 examination has been cancelled. The hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of more than 22 lakh students have been crushed by this corrupt BJP regime. Some fathers took loans, some mothers sold their jewellery, lakhs of children stayed up all night studying, and in return, they got paper leaks, government negligence, and organised corruption in education.”
“This is not just a failure-it’s a crime against the future of the youth,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the credibility of conducting the examination and asked what was the guarantee that papers won’t be leaked again if the test was re-conducted.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said affected students will have to resort to mass protests as the government only understands the language of agitation.
At a press conference, he said paper leaks do not happen out of nowhere, as he alleged complicity of higher ups, and accused the government of toying with the future of lakhs of students.
“I want to tell the students that they will have to come out on the streets. This government understands only the language of mass agitation … Kejriwal is with you,” the AAP supremo said.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose said the cancellation had thrown the lives of lakhs of students into “disarray and anxiety”.
In a post on X, she alleged there was “zero accountability” in the Narendra Modi government and accused it of being “incapable of daily administration”.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member John Brittas said repeated failures in national examinations were eroding public trust in the system.
RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav slammed the Centre and said the future of 23 lakh students “has once again been toyed with”.
Party spokesperson Priyanka Bharti linked the latest controversy to earlier allegations of paper leaks connected to Bihar.
“When the NEET paper leak happened in 2024, a connection to Bihar had emerged back then too. Once again, in the NEET paper leak case, three people from Bihar have been arrested. One MBBS doctor was also involved in this,” she said.
“How does Bihar’s name keep coming up every time,” Bharti asked.
Under fire, the NTA said the registration data, candidature and examination centres opted for in the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward for the re-conducted examination.
“No fresh registration will be required, and no additional examination fee will be levied,” the NTA statement said, adding that fees already paid by students will be refunded and the examination will be re-conducted using the NTA’s internal resources.
The NTA on Sunday had said question papers were transported in GPS-tracked vehicles carrying unique, traceable watermark identifiers, while examination centres were monitored through AI-assisted CCTV surveillance from a central control room.
According to the agency, inputs regarding alleged malpractice activity were received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination, and were escalated to central agencies on the morning of May 8 for “independent verification and necessary action”. (PTI)
