New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG 2026 re-examination be conducted in a computer-based test (CBT) format instead of the existing pen-and-paper mode.
Hearing the plea, a Bench of Justice P S Narasimha and Justice Aravind Kumar directed that it did not agree to grant the relief and deferred consideration of the matter until after the court vacation, effectively ruling out any change to the format of the scheduled re-test. The petition was filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker Sudhakar Singh and raised several concerns regarding the conduct of NEET examinations. Justice Narasimha observed that the Court had already dealt with comparable pleas and had not found merit in granting such directions.
The counsel for the petitioner challenged to a single issue urging the apex court to direct NTA, to conduct re-examination through a computer based system. The court pointed to the practical difficulties involved in altering the examination mechanism at such a late stage.
The court posted the matter to July and directed that it be heard along with a batch of pending petitions concerning reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Besides seeking a shift to CBT mode, the petition called for a comprehensive roadmap for transitioning NEET to a fully digital examination system, including infrastructure creation, cybersecurity measures, examination-centre readiness and accessibility safeguards for candidates. Further the petition also sought broader institutional reforms, such as replacement of the NTA with an independent statutory National Examination Authority possessing stronger technological safeguards, accountability mechanisms and oversight structures.
Besides the plea further sought implementation of recommendations made by the committee headed by former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, along with adoption of encrypted digital transmission of question papers, biometric authentication, artificial intelligence-based monitoring systems, enhanced cybersecurity protocols and mandatory digital locking of examination papers.
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