New Delhi, May 12, 2026 (Udaipur Kiran) — The National Testing Agency (NTA) has cancelled the NEET UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3 following suspicion of a paper leak. Fresh dates for the examination will be announced soon.
NTA said the decision was taken after approval from the Central Government. The investigation into the matter will now be conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Around 23 lakh students had appeared for the examination across the country.
The agency clarified that candidates will not have to register again for the re-examination. Existing examination centres will remain unchanged, while fresh admit cards will be issued for the new test. Examination fees paid by students will also be refunded.
According to NTA, parts of the investigation were handed over to central agencies on May 8, 2026, to ensure fairness and security in the examination process. Based on inputs received from probe agencies and after government approval, the agency decided to cancel the examination and conduct it again to maintain transparency.
The controversy began after handwritten “guess papers” were reportedly found with several students in Rajasthan. Many questions in those papers allegedly matched the actual NEET UG 2026 examination paper.
On May 10, the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) detained 15 suspects from Dehradun, Sikar and Jhunjhunu based on intelligence inputs.
Investigators found that questions carrying nearly 600 marks out of 720 had allegedly reached some students in Sikar two days before the examination. The “guess paper” was reportedly shared on May 1 by an MBBS student studying in a Kerala college with a friend in Sikar.
SOG is continuing its investigation and examining social media chats and call records of the suspects to trace the mastermind. Officials are also probing whether the material should be treated as a paper leak or only as a circulated guess paper.
The handwritten “question bank” reportedly contained over 300 questions from Physics, Chemistry and Biology. All the pages were written in the same handwriting, and around 150 questions allegedly appeared exactly in the final examination paper.
Experts said some overlap between guess papers and actual examinations is possible, but such a large number of matching questions is considered unusual.
A similar controversy had also surfaced in 2024 when allegations of a NEET UG paper leak emerged. Although evidence of a leak was later found during investigations in Bihar and Jharkhand, the Supreme Court had refused to cancel the entire examination. Instead, 1,539 candidates at selected centres were asked to reappear for the test.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.
