NEW DELHI, May 12 -- The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3, citing allegations of a question paper leak and other irregularities, casting doubts over the future of nearly 22.79 lakh aspirants into uncertainty.
The NTA failed to provide concrete details on the alleged leak or clarity on the re-examination schedule during its media briefing, drawing sharp criticism from protesting students and opposition parties that demanded accountability from the Centre.
In a damage control exercise, the government moved swiftly, asking the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR. The premier probe agency of the government was asked to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the "irregularities".
The NTA, which conducts the exam for admission to undergraduate courses in medical colleges, said fresh dates will be notified in the "next seven to 10 days".
The cancellation triggered nationwide outrage among medical aspirants, with students raising questions on NTA's competence and demanding that the exam be conducted by AIIMS-Delhi.
The Opposition also attacked the Centre, alleging administrative failure, insensitivity toward students and "repeated lapses" in the conduct of national-level competitive examinations. It also demanded an overhaul of the NTA.
Reports of protests by activists of NSUI, SFI and other organisations at several places also came in.
Though Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan did not respond to media queries on the cancellation, the NTA said this is a matter of concern for the children, for their parents, and for the entire ecosystem.
By the end of the day, the CBI registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft and destruction of evidence under Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), offences under Prevention of Corruption Act and under the Public Examination Prevention of Unfair Means Act 2024.
The agency dispatched multiple special teams to various locations and will also collect material from the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police.
The Rajasthan Police SOG had claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry that was allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination had approximately 410 questions and roughly 120 of these were in the question paper.
In Maharashtra's Nashik, a man was detained in connection with the paper leak. Nashik Deputy Commissioner of Police Kirankumar Chauhan said a team of Rajasthan Police would arrive in the city to take his custody.
The NTA, in a statement on X, said the decision to cancel the exam was taken in the interest of maintaining transparency and preserving trust in the national examination system.
The examination was conducted on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad with nearly 23 lakh candidates appearing nationwide with a turnout of 96.92 per cent.
The agency said the inputs received, taken together with findings shared by law enforcement agencies, established that the "present examination process could not be allowed to stand".
Later, talking to reporters, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh said, "Paper leaks must end with immediate effect. It is unfortunate that we are at this stage. This is a matter of concern for the children of our country, for their parents, and for the entire ecosystem.
"I understand that more than two lakh people were involved in the examination system. This is distressing for everyone involved. We take responsibility for what has happened; it was wrong. We are cancelling it and preparing to conduct it again with the assurance that such incidents will not be repeated..."
Under fire, the NTA said the registration data, candidature and examination centres opted for in the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward for the re-conducted examination.
"No fresh registration will be required, and no additional examination fee will be levied," the NTA statement said, adding that fees already paid by students will be refunded and the examination will be re-conducted using the NTA's internal resources.
The NTA on Sunday had said question papers were transported in GPS-tracked vehicles carrying unique, traceable watermark identifiers, while examination centres were monitored through AI-assisted CCTV surveillance from a central control room.
According to a report in India Today, Sikar, fast emerging as Rajasthan's new Kota, is now the biggest focus area of the CBI in its probe into the NEET paper leak case. So far, the investigation by the Rajasthan Police SOG has revealed a complex trail from Nashik, where the paper was allegedly printed, to Sikar, to other parts of the country. Sources said that the NEET paper got distributed through a one-to-one network across the country, reaching coaching centres in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Kerala and Uttarakhand.
In fact, the paper had been circulating for nearly 15 days before the May 3 examination, being sold to medical aspirants for anywhere between Rs 30,000 and Rs 28 lakh. In fact, a student from Nagaur, who arrived in Sikar four days before the May 3 exam, shelled out Rs 28 lakh for the paper. During questioning, this student said he received a call from Delhi saying the "paper had arrived".
According to an India Today report, it started with Rakesh selling the paper for Rs 30,000 to one of his aides, a Sikar student studying MBBS in Kerala. Just a day before the exam, the MBBS student sent the paper to his father, a PG operator in Sikar.
"Papa, a friend from Sikar sent this to me. Please give it to the girls in your hostel. This is what will come in tomorrow's exam," the message read. Without giving it much thought, the PG operator allegedly circulated the paper among the girls staying at the hostel, investigators said. A BAMS student has been arrested in Maharashtra's Nashik for allegedly buying the leaked 2026 NEET-UG question paper on Telegram and further selling it to a Haryana-based buyer, sources said.
The accused has been identified as Shubham Khairnar. He has been arrested by the Nashik Crime Branch. As many as four teams of the CBI have arrived in Nashik to take custody of Khairnar.
The arrest has also cast fresh doubts over the earlier theory that the paper was leaked directly from a Nashik printing press, with police sources now saying the exam paper was not printed there.with agency inputs
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.