The Supreme Court on Friday, 24 July declared it would 'very closely monitor' the Union government's road map for overhauling the National Testing Agency (NTA) and preventing future paper leaks, directing the Centre to file a comprehensive affidavit by 27 July covering the feasibility of shifting NEET-UG to a computer-based testing (CBT) format, cybersecurity architecture, and examination security protocols. The order came as the court heard a batch of petitions demanding structural reforms in the wake of the alleged 2026 NEET paper leak controversy.

What the Court Directed

A Bench of Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe posted the matter for further hearing on 27 July, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought additional time to present a 'holistic view' of the reforms underway. The court made clear that the affidavit must specifically address the proposed structure of the NTA's governing board, mechanisms to ensure transparency and stakeholder participation, and the role of domain experts — including institutions such as the IITs — in strengthening the examination framework.

The Bench also pressed the Centre on whether NEET could eventually shift entirely to CBT mode, and what cybersecurity safeguards would be required to protect such a system. 'Can it be shifted? How can the data be kept safe? If you digitise it, how will you secure it? Who will handle cybersecurity?' the Bench asked, directing these questions to be answered in the affidavit.

Centre's Assurances

Solicitor General Mehta assured the court that the Centre would place on record the entire examination process, 'right from the printing press till the time the student gets the paper.' He stated that the Radhakrishnan Committee — the high-powered panel headed by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan — had been 'fully accepted' by the government, and that the Centre was 'going ten extra miles' to address students' concerns, with the entire exercise supervised at the highest executive level. 'Any suggestion from the court, we will take it without reservation,' Mehta submitted.

Court's Rebuke of Ad Hoc Measures

The Supreme Court was pointed in its criticism of temporary fixes, noting that stopgap arrangements cannot become permanent policy. 'You deployed the Air Force, but that is ad hoc,' the Bench observed. 'Ad hocism has troubled us for years,' it added, signalling that the court expects durable institutional reform rather than crisis-response measures. The court also recalled its earlier position that specific accountability must be fixed within the NTA, warning that recurring controversies would persist unless responsibility was clearly assigned to individuals handling each stage of the examination process.

Legislative Push and Fast-Track Courts

The hearing followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement the previous day that the Centre has prepared a comprehensive draft Bill introducing stricter penalties for paper leak offences. The proposed legislation — expected to be cleared by the Union Cabinet and introduced in Parliament the following week — envisages harsher punishments, fast-track special courts for time-bound trials, and stronger institutional accountability. The government has also initiated the process of setting up fast-track courts under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, with NEET-related cases among those prioritised for early hearing.

What the Petitions Seek

The batch of petitions before the court demands a transition to CBT, greater statutory accountability for the NTA, stronger technological safeguards, and systemic measures to prevent recurring paper leaks. The Supreme Court has indicated it will follow up on the matter throughout the year, stating: 'We will see that complete and total institutionalisation takes place. We can't let this continue.' The next critical date is 27 July, when the Centre's detailed affidavit is due.