SC Defers RJD MP's Plea on Shifting NEET to Computer-Based Testing, Says "Larger Transition Question Needs Fuller Consideration"

The Court has folded Sudhakar Singh's petition into a set of NEET reform matters already listed for Monday, as the Centre points to a newly formed High Court Task Force under Nandan Nilekani tasked with recommending structural changes to the National Testing Agency.

Petition Postponed, Not Decided

The Supreme Court on July 27 briefly deferred hearing a petition filed by Rajya Sabha MP Sudhakar Singh seeking a shift of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) from its existing pen-and-paper format to Computer-Based Testing (CBT). A Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe said the larger question of transitioning NEET to CBT continues to require consideration, and that it would take up Singh's petition together with two other pending writ petitions seeking structural reforms to the examination, already scheduled for Monday.

The Bench had earlier declined to direct the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, held on June 21, through CBT, but had kept the broader question of a systemic transition to computer-based testing open for further hearing.

Government Points to a New Task Force

Appearing for the Union, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a High Court Task Force headed by Nandan Nilekani, former executive chairman of Infosys, to recommend structural reforms within the NTA. The Task Force's other members include S. Somanath, former ISRO Chairman, Tapan Deka, former Intelligence Bureau Director, V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, Anita Karwal, former Education Secretary and ex-CBSE Chairperson, and Amrit Lal Meena, a logistics expert and senior bureaucrat. Since the matter is already listed for Monday, the Court adjourned Singh's petition to be heard alongside the other pending matters.

This is not the first time the government has sought time before the Bench on the transition question. When the two main structural-reform petitions were taken up earlier, Mehta had told the Court that the government was "very serious" about safeguarding students' futures and asked to be able to assist the Court better once its own measures were further along, prompting the Bench to push that hearing to the following Monday as well.

The Petitions Already in the Queue

The two main petitions the Sudhakar Singh matter has now been clubbed with were filed by the United Doctors Front and the Federation of All India Medical Association, both filed in the aftermath of the NEET-UG 2026 cancellation and both seeking, among other things, the dissolution or replacement of the NTA and a court-supervised fresh examination process. While hearing that matter previously, the Bench indicated it would monitor implementation of the recommendations made by the High-Level Committee headed by former ISRO Chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, which had itself suggested a transition to CBT. Justice Narasimha had separately directed the government to file a comprehensive affidavit on how it intends to implement the shift to CBT, including how data security would be maintained given that paper leaks remain possible even where the breach occurs digitally rather than physically.

What Sudhakar Singh's Petition Seeks

The present petition was filed against the backdrop of the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination, which had been conducted on May 3 and was called off after a widespread paper leak was detected. Singh's petition seeks a time-bound roadmap for transitioning NEET-UG to a fully computer-based examination system, including infrastructure development, examination centres, cybersecurity safeguards and accessibility measures for candidates. It also seeks structural reform of the examination architecture itself, including a direction to replace the NTA with an independent statutory National Examination Authority equipped with technological safeguards, institutional accountability and oversight mechanisms, and the constitution of a high-level monitoring committee comprising a retired Supreme Court judge, educationists, psychologists, cybersecurity experts, forensic scientists and administrative experts.

Among the other reliefs sought are strict implementation of the Radhakrishnan Committee's recommendations, adoption of encrypted digital question-paper transmission, biometric verification, AI-based surveillance mechanisms, stronger cybersecurity protocols, and mandatory "digital locking" of question papers pending a gradual transition to CBT to reduce the risks associated with physically handling and transporting papers. The petition further seeks strict criminal prosecution of individuals, institutions, coaching centres, middlemen and officials allegedly involved in paper leaks and organised cheating rackets, a status report from the CBI on its investigation into the NEET-UG 2026 leak, and a direction to the NTA to publish results on a centre-wise basis to help detect anomalies.

When Singh's plea was earlier taken up for interim relief, Justice Narasimha had observed there was "no question" of granting such relief at that stage, noting that the authorities were already grappling with significant challenges. The Bench had, in an earlier hearing on the related petitions, expressed anguish at the NEET-UG cancellation and had sought reports from the Union and the NTA on steps taken to strengthen the examination system based on the recommendations of the court-appointed committee.

The Wider Backdrop

The NEET reform litigation sits alongside a separate and expanding set of proceedings arising from the same underlying crisis. A plea by Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha over police firing on NEET protesters in Bihar, seeking FIRs against the officers involved, is separately before the Supreme Court, as are the Delhi High Court PILs and the mentioning declined by the Chief Justice of India over police action against protesters at Jantar Mantar during the Cockroach Janta Party-led demonstrations. Read together, the NEET paper leak has generated litigation on at least three distinct fronts: the conduct and structure of the examination itself, the use of force against protesters agitating over it, and the accountability of the examination authority and those responsible for the leak.

Case Details

• Case Title: Sudhakar Singh v. Union of India
• Case Number: W.P.(C) No. 675/2026, Diary No. 30906/2026
• Bench: Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe, Supreme Court of India
• Outcome: Hearing deferred; petition to be heard along with two related structural-reform petitions on Monday
• Related petitions clubbed for Monday's hearing: United Doctors Front v. Union of India (seeking NTA dissolution); Federation of All India Medical Association's petition (seeking a fresh, judicially supervised exam)
• Government's stated position: High Court Task Force headed by Nandan Nilekani constituted to recommend structural reforms to the NTA, with members including S. Somanath, Tapan Deka, V. Kamakoti, Anita Karwal and Amrit Lal Meena
• Background: NEET-UG 2026 exam held May 3, 2026, cancelled following detection of a widespread paper leak; re-examination held June 21, 2026
• Related proceedings: Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha's plea before the Supreme Court over Bihar police firing on NEET protesters; separate PILs before the Delhi High Court and a declined mentioning before the Chief Justice of India concerning police action against protesters at Jantar Mantar