NTA ignored SC directions to overhaul system after 2024 leak: medical body petition

SOCIAL – EDUCATION

15 MAY 2026

• The Federation of Indian Medical Association (FAIMA) has flagged the “recurring, systemic, and catastrophic” failure of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) and has urged the Supreme Court to take a “stricter approach”.
• The NTA “casually” ignored recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee and the court’s directions after the 2024 leak.
• “Mechanism should be in place to ensure that any non-compliances will lead to exemplary penalties,” it said in a petition.
• It said “repeated digital breaches” and “administrative paralysis” in the NTA that cause multiple paper leaks warrant that the Supreme Court should invoke its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142, which it had earlier used to “strip the Medical Council of India of its independent policy making powers”.
• The petition said NTA relies heavily on unverified private service providers for logistics, including centre management and security, funnelling public funds into lowest bidder infrastructure despite repeated warnings against it by Parliamentary Standing Committees and the court when it heard the 2024 paper leak case.
• It said that the court had pointed out lapses in the NTA’s system in 2024. These included unauthorised access to strongrooms, transportation of highly sensitive examination materials on e-rickshaws and through private couriers, the absence of any prescribed time limit for the submission of OMR sheets, and a complete lack of direct oversight over the invigilators.
• The petition said that attempting to re-conduct the exam using the exact same flawed methods and private contractors, without first implementing the committee’s safety measures, is “highly irresponsible”.
• “In light of such a systemic collapse, the mere cancellation of the exam is a ‘Band-Aid’ solution to a ‘surgical’ problem.