Two years ago, the government had maintained that scrapping the examination would amount to treating “unequals equally” and that innocent students and offenders would suffer identical consequences
A decision reportedly taken by the National Testing Agency (NTA) with the Centre’s approval to cancel NEET-UG 2026, affecting the future of more than 22 lakh students across the country, stands in stark contrast to what they had stated and assured before the Supreme Court during the controversy surrounding the NEET (UG) paper leak in 2024. Two years earlier, the Centre and the NTA had informed the apex court that cancelling the NEET (UG) examination would be an extreme and unwise measure, putting at risk the careers of lakhs of students. They had advocated segregation instead of cancellation in 2024, arguing that students “not involved in wrongdoing should not suffer for those actually found guilty of irregularities”.
The government had argued in 2024 that annulling the examination would effectively mean treating “unequals equally” and that innocent candidates and wrongdoers would face the same punishment. “Public authorities, after all, were required to act fairly and reasonably,” the Centre had submitted.
The Centre had assured the court that the enactment of the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024 was clear proof of its “commitment to preserving the sanctity of examinations”.
“The Union of India remains committed to establishing a strong examination framework for conducting all competitive examinations in a fair and transparent manner, entirely insulated from opportunities for criminally-minded persons to engage in malpractice such as impersonation, cheating or paper leaks,” a Union government affidavit had assured the court in July 2024.
Barely two years have passed since those assurances, and a statement issued by the NTA on Tuesday (May 12) stated that “inputs” and “investigative findings” made the cancellation of the 2026 examination necessary.
The apex court had not cancelled the NEET (UG) 2024 examination. It had observed that cancellation would require a high threshold of proof demonstrating a “systemic breach in the sanctity of the examination”. It remains uncertain whether the 2026 paper leak establishes such a systemic failure. The Central Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating the matter.
In its July 2024 judgment, the Supreme Court listed four major consequences of cancelling the NEET examination. These included disruption of the admission schedule for medical courses, pushing the entire process back by several months; cascading effects on the course of medical education; impact on the future availability of qualified medical professionals; and serious disadvantage to students from marginalised communities and economically weaker sections for whom reservations are provided in seat allocation.
The court had concluded that the issue of whether to cancel NEET must be determined by the established test of “whether it is possible to separate tainted students from those whose candidature is free from any taint”.
The court also emphasised that action must be initiated against “every student” found involved in malpractice “at any stage”.
