The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday, May 12 announced the cancellation of the NEET (UG) 2026 examination held on May 3, following allegations of a question paper leak. The exam will be reconducted on a later date, the agency said in a press release.
Around 22 lakh students had appeared for NEET UG 2026. The decision was taken after inputs received from central and law enforcement agencies indicated serious irregularities in the conduct of the examination.
“The inputs received by NTA, taken together with the findings shared by the law enforcement agencies, established that the present examination process could not be allowed to stand. The re-conducted examination dates, along with the re-issued admit-card schedule, will be communicated through the official channels of the Agency in the coming days,” the NTA said in its statement.
The shocking malpractice came to light in Rajasthan, where over 45 people have reportedly been detained in connection with the case. Preliminary findings suggest that the leaked “guess paper” may have originated from a printing press, raising concerns about possible internal security lapses in the examination process.
The agency added that the investigation into the alleged paper leak will be handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and assured full cooperation with the probe by providing all necessary records and materials.
The NTA said the decision to reconduct the exam was taken as the alternative options were more worrying.
“This decision has been taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests. The Agency is conscious that the re-conduct will cause real and significant inconvenience to candidates and their families. NTA does not take that consequence lightly. The decision has been taken because the alternative would have caused greater and more lasting damage to that trust,” the statement said.
According to the NTA, all registration details, candidature data, and examination centre preferences submitted for the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward for the reconducted exam. No fresh registration process will be required, and candidates will be reimbursed the fee they paid and will not have to pay any additional fee.
“In addition, fees already paid will be refunded to the students and the exam will be re-conducted using NTA’s internal resources,” the agency said.
Candidates have been advised to rely only on official NTA channels for updates regarding the revised examination schedule and admit cards.
A preliminary probe into the paper leak by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police has also revealed that an MBBS student in Kerala allegedly circulated test material resembling the actual NEET questions days before the May 3 examination.
The SOG began investigating after receiving information that a set of questions circulated prior to the exam closely matched the original paper.
Anand Kumar Shrivastava, DGP, Operations Cell, Rajasthan Police, told Onmanorama that the origin of the “guess paper” had been traced to Kerala.
“Initial probe reveals that a student of a medical college in Kerala sent the material. We have not registered an FIR so far. We are collecting the basic information as of now,” Shrivastava said, adding that investigators were also probing how the student obtained the material in the first place.
While police have not disclosed the identity of the student, he is said to be a native of Rajasthan.
