Monjita Sarkar 
The NEET-UG 2026 was officially held on May 3 but cancelled on May 12 by the National Testing Agency (NTA) following evidence of a paper leak. Nearly 23 lakh aspirants remain affected in what happens to be the first ever instance of total cancellation of the exam since the NTA took over it. It was on the basis of NTA’s findings and ongoing investigations that the paper stood cancelled. The conducting body also said that the decision to cancel the exam has been taken “in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests”.
Details of the re-examination
The re-test that is scheduled on Sunday, June 21, 2026 which requires no re-registration. Previous registrations, selected centers, and candidature from the May Cycle remain valid. No additional registration fees will be charged and the NTA has said that fees paid by the students to register before will be refunded. While new admit cards are expected to be issued, NTA has stated that the ‘reissued admit card schedule’ will be communicated through official channels. Parents and students have been asked to rely on official NTA channels for further information and disregard information from unverified sources.
Details of the paper leak
Weeks before the examination, a ‘guess paper’ closely matching several questions in the real paper had been circulating amongst aspirants. The document included 410 questions and was reportedly shared among students between 15 days and a month before the exam, with nearly 120 questions matching those from the Chemistry section of the actual paper. Authorities further alleged that questions were circulated on WhatsApp as little as 42 hours before the examination.
The Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group also launched a parallel probe following reports of striking similarities between the circulated document and the actual question paper.
Details of the CBI Investigations
The Government of India handed over the investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to carry out a comprehensive probe into the alleged irregularities linked to the examination.
In a Delhi court, the CBI stated that the leak involved a “larger conspiracy” and sought custodial interrogation to trace financial transactions, recover electronic evidence, and identify possible NTA officials linked to the leak. The CBI also requested from the NTA complete details of all individuals who had access to the question paper before it was sealed, including question setters, subject experts, professors, teachers, and members of the translation panels.
The CBI arrested at least seven individuals in connection with the leak. Among those detained was a retired Chemistry Professor from Latur, who was reportedly part of the Marathi translation panel for NEET and had access to the complete question paper during the translation process. NEET is conducted in 13 regional languages and requires parallel translation under strict confidentiality protocols. Additionally, a beauty parlour owner was also arrested from the Sukhsagar Nagar area, who was accused of receiving money through approximately two dozen bank accounts ahead of the examination, indicating the existence of a larger financial network connected to the leak.
A senior CBI official confirmed that the investigation remains active and wide-ranging, stating that several other suspects are being interrogated and that more arrests are expected in the coming days as the CBI continues to pursue all leads.
