NEW DELHI, Aug 6: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed petitioners seeking reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) to file their replies to the Centre’s affidavit, which states that shifting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) from the pen-and-paper format to a computer-based examination is under active consideration.
A Bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe posted the matter for hearing on August 19, allowing petitioners to submit their responses and suggestions to the Centre’s counter-affidavit.
Appearing for the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), advocate Tanvi Dubey told the court that if the government plans to transition NEET-UG to a computer-based format, the decision should be implemented at the earliest as students are currently preparing according to the existing pen-and-paper pattern.
The Bench said it would consider all aspects of the issue and asked all parties to file their replies before the next hearing.
Senior advocate Pijush Kanti Roy and advocate Satyam Singh Rajput represented RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, one of the petitioners seeking structural reforms in the NTA.
In its affidavit, the Centre informed the apex court that all stakeholders are actively examining the possibility of conducting NEET-UG in a computer-based format, either as a single-stage examination or a two-stage process on the lines of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main and Advanced).
The government said the final decision would be taken after considering the recommendations of the High-Powered Task Force headed by Nandan Nilekani. It added that the panel comprises experts from technology, space, intelligence, academia and public administration to comprehensively examine the technological, security, infrastructure, equity and academic aspects of such a transition.
The Centre also informed the court that it has initiated a comprehensive overhaul of the NEET examination process to prevent paper leaks and address systemic shortcomings.
The affidavit was filed in response to the Supreme Court’s May 29 order directing the Union government to explain how future NEET examinations would be conducted and how institutional mechanisms would be strengthened to improve examination processes over time.
The government further said Parliament has reinforced the legal framework against examination fraud through the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, strengthening provisions introduced under the 2024 law that criminalised question paper leaks, impersonation, tampering with computer systems and other examination-related offences.
One of the petitions has sought the replacement or restructuring of the NTA with an autonomous and robust body to conduct the medical entrance examination.
The NTA had cancelled the NEET-UG examination held on May 3 following allegations of a question paper leak. A re-examination was conducted on June 21, while the alleged leak is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Following the 2024 NEET paper leak controversy, the Supreme Court had declined to cancel the examination but issued several directions aimed at strengthening safeguards against paper leaks and laying down principles for dealing with irregularities in public examinations.
