The Supreme Court will hear petitions seeking reforms in the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) on August 19, after asking the petitioners to file their responses to the Centre's affidavit on proposed changes to the NEET-UG examination.
The petitions seek changes to the examination system following the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and cancellation. The court is also examining the implementation of recommendations made by the high-level committee headed by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan after the 2024 NEET-UG controversy.
One of the issues before the court is the Centre's consideration of moving NEET-UG from its existing pen-and-paper format to computer-based testing (CBT). The government has clarified that no final decision has been taken to conduct NEET-UG in CBT mode from 2027. The decision will depend on the recommendations of a high-powered task force headed by Nandan Nilekani, which is examining India's public examination system.
The case before the court
The petitions include pleas from medical bodies such as the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) and the United Doctors Front (UDF) seeking structural changes to the NTA and greater safeguards for NEET-UG.
The petitioners have sought measures including stronger examination security, greater use of technology and changes to the institutional structure of the NTA. FAIMA has also sought an autonomous examination body and independent oversight of the examination process.
The court's scrutiny follows the cancellation of the original NEET-UG 2026 examination after allegations of a paper leak. A re-examination was subsequently held on June 21.
What happened after the 2024 NEET controversy?
The current proceedings go back to the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, after allegations of question paper leaks and irregularities led the Centre to constitute a seven-member High-Level Committee of Experts headed by K Radhakrishnan.
The committee submitted its report in October 2024 with 101 recommendations covering examination security, data protection, the functioning of the NTA and the conduct of examinations.
The recommendations included restructuring the NTA, strengthening its specialised workforce, improving coordination with state and district authorities, tightening security at examination centres and introducing technology-based measures for candidate identification and examination security.
Among the technology proposals was Digi-Exam, along with a recommendation for computer-assisted examination systems. The committee also suggested limiting the NTA's examination responsibilities until its capacity was strengthened.
The Centre accepted the committee's recommendations and has since reported steps including Aadhaar-based biometric authentication, expanded CCTV surveillance, stronger examination-centre security and additional senior-level positions within the NTA.
How much of the earlier reform has been implemented?
The implementation of the 101 recommendations is itself part of the issue before the Supreme Court.
Government submissions have said that a majority of the recommendations have been implemented or are under implementation. However, recent reporting based on the Centre's data found that 57 of the 101 recommendations had been fully implemented, while another 10 had been partially implemented, leaving several recommendations pending.
The pending measures include some structural and long-term changes to the examination system. This has become significant because the 2026 NEET-UG leak occurred despite measures introduced after the 2024 controversy.
The Supreme Court has therefore indicated that it wants to examine the reforms as an institutional process rather than rely on temporary measures. In July, the court said it would closely monitor the Centre's reform roadmap and sought details on examination security, protection of question papers and digital data, and the feasibility of CBT.
The computer-based test question
The move to CBT has been discussed for several months.
In May, the NTA told the Supreme Court that it was prepared to conduct NEET-UG in computer-based mode from 2027 after consultations with the Centre.
However, when the issue came before the court in June, the court declined to order a computer-based format for the 2026 re-examination, citing the practical difficulties involved in changing the examination format at short notice.
The Centre has since told the court that the question of CBT remains under consideration. A final decision is expected only after the Nilekani-led task force submits its recommendations.
This means that NEET-UG 2027 has not yet been officially confirmed as a computer-based examination.
What happens next
The petitioners will now respond to the Centre's affidavit before the next hearing on August 19.
The court will then consider the government's proposed reforms alongside the petitioners' objections and the recommendations of the earlier Radhakrishnan committee.