The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea filed by six NEET-UG 2026 candidates who have alleged discrepancies between the answers they marked in their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets during the examination and the copies later uploaded by the National Testing Agency (NTA).The matter was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. The petitioners sought an urgent hearing, stating that the issue needs to be resolved before the NEET-UG counselling process begins.
Candidates allege mismatch in uploaded OMR sheets
Appearing for the petitioners, the counsel informed the court that all six candidates had secured more than 600 or 650 marks in the examination but noticed differences between the responses they had actually marked and the OMR sheets made available by the NTA.According to the submissions, the students believe that the uploaded OMR copies do not accurately reflect the answers they filled during the examination.The lawyer further told the bench that the candidates had repeatedly attempted to raise the issue with the testing agency. They allegedly sent emails to the NTA and even visited its office in person, but did not receive any response. Taking note of the submissions, the Supreme Court agreed to list the matter for hearing.
Plea comes ahead of NEET-UG counselling
The petition has been filed at a crucial stage, as the NEET-UG 2026 counselling process is expected to begin shortly. The candidates argued that any discrepancy in the OMR sheets could directly affect their scores, merit positions, and admission prospects.The petitioners have therefore sought an early hearing so that the issue can be addressed before seat allocation starts.
Background: NEET-UG 2026 re-examination
The NEET-UG 2026 examination has already witnessed an unusual academic cycle. The original exam, conducted on May 3, was cancelled after allegations of a paper leak. The NTA subsequently held a re-examination on June 21 for eligible candidates.With the examination process already under intense scrutiny this year, the latest plea adds another legal challenge ahead of the admission process.The Supreme Court is expected to examine the candidates’ allegations when the matter comes up for hearing. The outcome could be significant for the petitioners as counselling for undergraduate medical admissions draws closer.
