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NEW DELHI: Taking full responsibility for the cancellation of NEET UG 2026 due to alleged irregularities in the paper leak, Abhishek Singh, on Tuesday, said the process to conduct the nationwide re-examination would begin within the next seven to ten days.

The statement came shortly after the National Testing Agency officially scrapped the May 3 medical entrance examination following widespread allegations of malpractice and suspected leakage of question material. Simultaneously, the Centre handed over the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive probe into the alleged irregularities.

The cancellation has affected nearly 23 lakh medical aspirants across the country and triggered fresh concerns over the integrity of India’s competitive examination system.

Fresh exam schedule to be announced soon

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Singh said the NTA was now preparing a revised examination calendar while ensuring that the medical admission process suffers minimal disruption.

“For the re-examination date, I will sit with my team and, in the next few days, announce the complete exam schedule and dates. Our effort will be to conduct the exam in the shortest possible time so that the academic calendar and admission schedule of medical colleges are not disrupted. The process will begin within the next seven to 10 days,” Singh said.

He also clarified that candidates would not be required to pay any fresh examination fee for the re-test and that the fees already deposited for the cancelled examination would be refunded.

‘Paper leaks must end immediately’

Calling the controversy “deeply distressing,” the NTA Director General acknowledged institutional failure and stressed the urgent need to eliminate paper leaks from the examination ecosystem.

“Paper leaks must end with immediate effect. Unfortunately, we are at this stage. This is a matter of concern for the children of our country, for their parents, and for the entire ecosystem,” Singh said.

Highlighting the scale of the examination exercise, he noted that over two lakh individuals were involved in conducting the nationwide test.

“This is distressing for everyone involved. We take responsibility for what has happened; it was wrong. We are cancelling it and preparing to conduct it again with the assurance that such incidents will not be repeated,” he added.

‘Entire paper was not leaked’

Singh clarified that investigators had not established that the entire NEET paper had been leaked. However, he admitted that several questions circulating among students before the examination appeared similar to questions asked in the actual test.

“The entire paper was not leaked. The CBI will probe the number of questions leaked,” he said.

According to Singh, NEET UG 2026 was conducted using four different versions of the question paper, and no complete paper had surfaced publicly before the examination.

“There were many questions in the PDF that circulated, and some of them looked similar to questions from the exam paper. So I would not say that the entire paper was leaked,” he explained.

At the same time, Singh emphasised that even a partial compromise of the question paper violated the agency’s standards of fairness and transparency.

“Even if a single question matches our question paper, our commitment to zero tolerance and zero error is violated, and our entire process is compromised. We will take responsibility for it and take action accordingly,” he stated.

CBI investigation gathers pace

The controversy escalated after the Rajasthan Special Operations Group provided input suggesting that a so-called “guess paper” had circulated among students weeks before the examination.

The CBI has already registered an FIR under charges including criminal conspiracy and cheating, and is expected to widen the probe into suspected organised examination leak networks.

The NTA chief also warned of strict action against individuals or groups attempting to exploit students through fake paper leak claims or fraudulent schemes.

“Wherever we receive reports that someone is selling question papers or misleading students, we will act against them,” Singh said.

Anxiety among lakhs of aspirants

The cancellation of one of India’s most competitive entrance examinations has left lakhs of students and parents anxious about delayed admissions, counselling schedules and uncertainty surrounding the academic calendar.

NEET UG 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and 14 overseas centres, and serves as the gateway to admissions to MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH programmes nationwide.

Meanwhile, Dharmendra Pradhan declined to comment on the controversy while interacting with the media.

The coming days are now expected to be crucial as authorities finalise the re-examination schedule while the CBI intensifies its probe into the alleged paper leak network.