NTA Cancels NEET UG 2026 After Paper Leak Evidence 22.79 Lakh Students Face Re-Examination for the Second Time in Three Years

The cancellation, announced May 12 with a CBI probe ordered, follows the discovery of a handwritten "guess paper" that allegedly matched 120 questions from the May 3 exam exposing the same structural failure that paralysed medical admissions in 2024.

The National Testing Agency cancelled the NEET UG 2026 examination on Tuesday, May 12, nine days after 22.79 lakh students sat for the test marking the second time in three years that India's largest medical entrance examination has been invalidated over paper leak allegations.

In an official statement, NTA said: "On the basis of the inputs subsequently examined by NTA in coordination with the central agencies, and the investigative findings shared by the law enforcement agencies and in order to ensure that there is transparency in the system, the National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on 3 May 2026, and to re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately." 

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The agency confirmed that examination centres selected during the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward and that the re-examination will be conducted using NTA's internal resources. Fresh examination dates and the revised admit card schedule will be announced separately through official channels.

What the Rajasthan SOG Found

The controversy began after Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group began investigating a handwritten "guess paper" containing approximately 410 questions. Of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the actual examination. The guess paper was reportedly sent to students via WhatsApp groups 42 hours before the exam began on May 3. 

According to investigators, police suspect the material originated from a medical student from Rajasthan studying in Kerala. The document was reportedly forwarded to contacts in Rajasthan's Sikar district a major coaching hub before spreading rapidly across student networks. SOG teams carried out searches and questioning across several Rajasthan cities including Sikar and in Dehradun. 

So far, 13 suspects have been detained from Dehradun, Sikar, and Jhunjhunu in connection with the case. Officials have not ruled out the possibility of a larger racket behind the circulation of the questions. 

Some reports suggest the material was sold for as much as ₹5 lakh before the test, while the price reportedly dropped significantly closer to exam day. Chat records recovered during the probe allegedly showed the "forwarded many times" label on WhatsApp, indicating widespread circulation. These claims have not been officially confirmed by the CBI or NTA. 

CBI Probe Ordered

The Centre has ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the paper leak allegations. This mirrors the sequence from 2024, when the Central Government handed over the NEET UG 2024 investigation to the CBI on June 22, 2024, following protests, Supreme Court scrutiny, and a large-scale national controversy over irregularities. 

The Same Failure, Two Years Later

What distinguishes this cancellation from a standalone administrative failure is its repetition. The 2024 NEET UG scandal resulted in Supreme Court intervention, CBI arrests, the dissolution of multiple NTA committees, and a government review of examination security protocols. Despite those interventions, the core breach — a question paper allegedly circulating through coaching networks and WhatsApp groups before the exam — has occurred again in 2026.

Dr Dhruv Chauhan, National Spokesperson of the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors Network, said: "I raised the NEET UG paper leak in 2024, govt agencies back then tried to call my claims rubbish. It's 2026 today, nothing changed and claims of another paper leak are being reported. When you talk about making India a 'Viksit Bharat' but it involves healthcare scams, exam leaks and paper delays but you continue to deny it, it's nothing but making a fool of your country."

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said: "It's not an exam anymore NEET is now an auction. Many questions were being sold on WhatsApp 42 hours before the exam. Over 22 lakh children studied through sleepless nights all year, burning the midnight oil, and in one night, their future was openly auctioned off in the marketplace. This isn't the first time." 

With only around one lakh MBBS seats available across India, even a small difference in marks can determine whether a candidate secures admission to a government medical college or is pushed toward expensive private institutions — making the integrity of the exam directly consequential to millions of households. imdb

Students have been advised by NTA to follow only official updates on neet.nta.nic.in and not rely on social media for re-examination dates.