'We should not disappoint youngsters': Supreme Court raps NTA, stresses accountability for NEET-UG paper leak

The Supreme Court on Friday lashed out at the National Testing Agency, stressing accountability for the lapses in the NEET-UG paper leak issue.

The apex court said that the situation was “actually very traumatic” not only for the students but for their families as well if something like this happened.

“We should not disappoint our youngsters,” a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said while hearing pleas on the matter, including one seeking a direction to replace or restructure the National Testing Agency (NTA) with a robust and autonomous body to conduct the medical entrance examination.

The bench asked the NTA to learn from how the UPSC exams are conducted. "UPSC has never been a situation, you need to learn," it said.

Meanwhile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the government is serious about the concerns of the youths and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally supervising the situation.

"The real problem won't stop till actual accountability arises,” the bench observed.

“It is actually very traumatic if something like this happens, not just for the students, but also their families and everybody,” the bench said, adding, “They invest so much emotion.”

Mehta said that there are new mechanisms in place for the NEET-UG re-test scheduled for June 21.

The apex court asked the Centre to file an affidavit in the matter, the bench posted the matter for hearing in the second week of July.

On May 12, the NTA cancelled the NEET-UG examination held on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, while the CBI is investigating the matter.

A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.

In 2024, when the NEET-UG paper was allegedly leaked, the top court had refused to cancel the test but passed various directions aimed at tackling paper leaks and also a criterion for cancelling public exams.