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Nearly 2.28 million candidates sat the exam on 3 May at more than 5,000 centres across India. The NTA's announcement has left most of them devastated. Why Mod ji is not fixing the responsibility on the minister is a major question in debate.
Admission to medical colleges in India is mainly based on the NEET-UG exam.
India has a highly competitive system, with millions of candidates writing the exam each year for a limited number of undergraduate medical seats in government colleges and some prestigious private colleges.
In many Indian cities, students attend private coaching centres to prepare for competitive entrance exams. The classes are held separately from school lessons and can add several more hours of studying each day, especially on weekends.
"Becoming a doctor has always been the plan for me," says Sumi (who goes only by her first name), a 20-year-old aspirant from the northeastern state of Assam.
When she heard that the exam was cancelled, her first thought was that it could not be true. "Now I have made a new schedule and started preparing again," she told the BBC, adding that the stress caused by the announcement has affected her focus.
Anamika, a 22-year-old medical aspirant from the eastern state of Bihar, said this was her sixth attempt at the NEET-UG exam.
NEET UG 2026 Paper Leak: The Chain Of Events That Forced Exam CancellationNEET UG 2026 Exam Paper Leak: This is the first time since NTA took over NEET UG conduct in 2019 that the medical entrance examination has been completely scrapped.
The matter has now been formally referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (Central Bureau of Investigation), which will conduct a comprehensive probe. The NTA said it will extend full cooperation and share all relevant records and materials.
Until now, the case was being jointly examined by multiple agencies, including the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (Rajasthan Special Operations Group) and other law enforcement units.
Investigators traced the network from Sikar to Jaipur, where two individuals from Jamwaramgarh were allegedly found to have purchased the paper for Rs 15 lakh and supplied it further to Sikar-based contacts.
This group is believed to have expanded the distribution network beyond Sikar.
The Jamwaramgarh duo reportedly claimed they sourced the material from Haryana, leading investigators further into the network.
In Haryana, authorities detained a medical student suspected of being part of an organised gang involved in the leak.
The probe was then extended further to Maharashtra, where a person in Nashik was found in possession of a handwritten copy of the paper. He also reportedly identified an accomplice in Pune, who is currently being traced.
Investigators believe these links indicate that the alleged leak network extended across multiple states, including Rajasthan, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
The NTA said the decision to cancel the exam was taken in the interest of students and to preserve the credibility of the national examination system. It acknowledged that the re-conduct would cause inconvenience but said continuing with the existing process would have caused "greater and more lasting damage" to institutional trust.
The agency also reiterated that all further communication, including revised exam dates and admit card schedules, will be issued only through official platforms, urging candidates to rely on verified sources and avoid unverified social media reports.
Several Indian states, led by Tamil Nadu, are opposing the NEET exam, seeking to scrap it in favor of state-level, Class 12-based admissions, citing inequality, rural disadvantage, and paper leaks.
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Karnataka have passed legislative resolutions inthe past requesting exemption from the exam, arguing it creates an unfair, expensive coaching culture that marginalizes rural and Tamil-medium students.
Anamika said this year's exam was "excellent" and that she had expected around 640 marks - a score that could have secured her a place in some top medical colleges. "I thought this time it was finally certain," she said.
But after struggling with stress following the cancellation, she said she had now accepted the situation and resumed preparing again.
Some, however, believe that the cancellation was necessary.
"The NTA has taken a good decision because what happened was an injustice to hardworking candidates," an aspiring doctor told ANI news agency. "Those who cheated should not get admission in medical colleges."
ends
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