NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled NEET-UG-2026 – held on May 3 – after its investigators found evidence that several questions appearing similar to that in the medical entrance exam’s paper had been circulated before the test. Govt has handed over the question paper leak case to CBI and said a fresh examination date will be announced soon.The cancellation affects nearly 23 lakh aspirants and marks the first time NEET-UG has been fully scrapped since NTA took over its conduct in 2019 – it was partially re-conducted for a little over 1,563 students in 2024 following discrepancies in marks.

Investigators of the testing agency, tracing the alleged leak trail, have linked it to a printing agency in Jaipur and coaching networks spread across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Bihar and Kerala, with Nashik police detaining a suspect and CBI – after registering an FIR on a complaint from the education ministry – conducting raids at 12 places across the country. “The paper conducted on May 3 had four code versions. None of the papers was found in the market and no leak has been established. In a PDF that was circulated, there were many questions, and some of them appeared similar to questions from the exam paper,” NTA director general Abhishek Singh said.Also read: Mafia sold paper across states at Rs 10L-25L: Tip to Rajasthan officials ignored, ‘whistleblower’ emailed leaked NEET questions to NTA First whistleblower inputs reached NTA on May 7, 4 days after exam Conducting NEET costs Rs 200 crore, but the agency earns about Rs 300 crore from application fees of aspirants.“So, I would not say that the entire paper was leaked. But I will definitely say that even if a single question matches our question paper, then our commitment to zero tolerance and zero error is violated, and our entire process is compromised,” said NTA director general Abhishek Singh. “We take responsibility for it and will take action accordingly,” Singh added amid protests by student groups, parents and opposition parties accusing govt of “administrative failure and insensitivity toward students”.TOI had shared a copy of the handwritten PDF with the NTA and it is alleged the leaked material was sold at rates ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 40 lakh depending on timing and access.The first whistleblower inputs reached NTA on May 7 night, four days after the exam. The material allegedly contained questions matching those in the May 3 test paper. A verification exercise found the PDF was present on a few mobile phones on May 1 and May 2, before the exam, according to the agency.

People aware of the probe said the paper is suspected to have been leaked from a printing agency in Jaipur. NTA investigators believe it first reached a coaching institute in Nashik before being circulated across states. Following inputs from Rajasthan Police, Nashik crime branch detained 30-year-old Shubham Khairnar, who investigators believe may hold key information on how the paper moved through the network.The controversy widened after Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group began examining claims that a PDF “guess paper” containing around 410 questions had been circulated before the exam. Investigators are probing allegations that nearly 140 questions, including 120 of chemistry, of the 180-question NEET paper were part of the 410-question PDF. Officials are also examining interstate links involving Rajasthan, Kerala, Maharashtra, Haryana, Bihar and Uttarakhand.In its FIR, CBI has invoked sections of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under BNS, besides the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examination Prevention of Unfair Means Act 2024.Investigators are also examining allegations that the order of questions and answer options matched the final paper. Some coaching operators claimed the material had spread widely among aspirants before the exam.The exam would be conducted again on dates to be notified separately, NTA said, with Singh indicating the revised schedule could be announced within 7-10 days. Students will not have to register again or pay additional fees, it said. Fees already paid would be refunded and the re-test conducted using the agency’s internal resources. Candidature details and examination centre choices from the May cycle would be carried forward. Students and parents must rely only on official communication channels, the agency said.The cancellation is expected to affect medical admission calendar for 2026-27. A private university vice-chancellor in Tamil Nadu described the development as “very unfortunate” and said the nexus involving coaching centres, intermediaries and unethical practices was affecting student mental health and the higher education system.In 2024 as well, NEET-UG faced allegations of paper leaks and result irregularities. In Bihar, candidates were alleged to have paid Rs 30 lakh-Rs 50 lakh for advance access to questions. In Godhra, a teacher was accused of helping students fill OMR sheets for money. Even results had triggered protests after 67 students secured perfect scores, later reduced after SC intervention over a disputed physics question.