NEET-UG 'paper leak': Re-exam to be held on June 21, NTA announces fresh date

The exam-conducting body announced that the re-examination will be conducted on Sunday, June 21, 2026.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced that the re-examination for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 will be conducted on Sunday, June 21, 2026, days after canceling the May 3 examination over widespread allegations of a paper leak.

In a post on X, the exam-conducting body said, “Examination Date Announced. The National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has scheduled the re-examination of NEET (UG) 2026 on Sunday, 21 June 2026.”

The agency had earlier clarified that candidates would not have to register again for the examination. According to NTA, the candidature details, registration data and examination centres opted for during the May 2026 cycle will automatically be carried forward to the re-conducted examination.

The agency also said that no additional examination fee would be charged from candidates and that fees already paid would be refunded. The re-examination, it added, would be conducted using NTA’s “internal resources.”

So far, the NTA has not indicated any change in the mode or pattern of the examination. This comes despite earlier reports and sources suggesting that discussions were underway regarding a possible shift to a hybrid multi-shift model for NEET in the coming years amid repeated allegations of malpractice and question paper leaks.

What happened?

NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3 for around 22.79 lakh candidates across more than 5,400 centres in India and abroad, was cancelled by the NTA on May 12 after allegations of a paper leak escalated into a multi-state investigation.

The controversy began after a so-called “guess paper” circulating through coaching and hostel networks in Rajasthan’s Sikar was found to allegedly contain a large number of questions matching the actual NEET paper.

According to the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG), investigators found that 45 Chemistry questions, and 90 Biology questions matched the actual paper exactly, including wording and punctuation in several cases.

Investigators have since traced an alleged network stretching across Nashik, Gurugram, Jaipur and Sikar. The probe has led to multiple arrests, including consultancy-linked individuals in Rajasthan and a BAMS student in Nashik allegedly found with a physical copy of the “guess paper.”

The case has now been taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), intensifying the probe with fresh raids and arrests across multiple states. As per reports, seven people have been arrested so far by the authority.