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The United Doctors Front (UDF) has moved the Supreme Court of India seeking dissolution of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in its present form following the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy and subsequent cancellation of the examination.
The petition has been filed by the petitioner United Doctors Front (UDF), a registered organisation, under Article 32 of the Constitution, alleging "systemic and catastrophic failure" in the conduct of NEET-UG 2026 and seeking structural reforms in the examination system. Filed through Advocate-on-Record Ritu Reniwal along with Advocate Mahendra Kumawat, the plea seeks a writ directing the Union Government to dissolve the NTA as presently constituted under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and replace it with a statutory national testing body created through legislation passed by Parliament. The petition further seeks directions to the Union of India to introduce a law establishing a statutory testing authority with defined legal powers, transparency norms and direct accountability to Parliament. It has also prayed for the constitution of a court-monitored committee to supervise the transition of upcoming national examinations and ensure "zero-leak integrity". According to the petition, NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3 for nearly 22.7 lakh candidates, was compromised through an organised "guess paper" racket allegedly spread through WhatsApp and Telegram groups across multiple states. The plea refers to investigations by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) and the subsequent CBI FIR to contend that the sanctity of the examination stood compromised at a systemic level. The plea alleges that despite safeguards such as biometric verification, GPS tracking and AI-assisted CCTV surveillance, examination material was leaked nearly 42 hours before the exam. It claims the subsequent cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 amounted to a tacit admission by authorities that genuine candidates could no longer be segregated from beneficiaries of the leak. UDF has argued that the NTA's status as a registered society creates an "accountability vacuum" as it is not directly answerable to Parliament in the manner of constitutional or statutory bodies like the UPSC or SSC. The petition contends that repeated leaks violate Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution by undermining merit-based selection and causing severe mental trauma and uncertainty to students. The petition also relies upon the Supreme Court's observations in the 2024 NEET controversy and the recommendations of the K. Radhakrishnan Committee, which had reportedly suggested stronger safeguards, reduced outsourcing and transition towards computer-based examinations. (ANI)
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