NEET (UG) 2026 Cancelled, Re-exam Dates to be Announced

The registration data, candidature, and examination centres opted for in the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward to the re-conducted examination, NTA said.

The Wire Staff

The registration data, candidature, and examination centres opted for in the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward to the re-conducted examination, NTA said.

neet ug 2026 cancelled re exam dates to be announced

Aspirants do last minute preparations before they appear for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2026 exam, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir on May 3, 2026. Photo: PTI.

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday (May 12) cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam held on May 3, 2026. The dates for the re-examination will be announced later. This move comes after paper leak allegations surfaced in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.

Citing findings from central agencies that the current process “could not be allowed to stand”, the NTA announced that "on the basis of the inputs subsequently examined by NTA in coordination with the central agencies, and the investigative findings shared by the law enforcement agencies and in order to ensure that there is transparency in the system, the National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on 3 May 2026, and to re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately."

The NTA mentioned that the re-conducted examination dates, along with the re-issued admit-card schedule, will be communicated through the official channels of the agency in the coming days.

In order to appear for the re-examination, no fresh registration will be required, and no additional examination fee will be levied on students. The registration data, candidature, and examination centres opted for in the May 2026 cycle will be carried forward to the re-conducted examination. Fees already paid, will be refunded to the students and the exam will be re-conducted using NTA’s internal resources, it said.

Over 22.7 lakh students have appear for the exam which now stands cancelled.

The agency has urged students and parents to only rely on official channels for communication; helpline are neet-ug@nta.ac.in, 011-40759000 and 011-69227700.

As per reports, the alleged irregularities involve ‘a guess paper’ circulated before the exam that reportedly contained approximately 410 questions out of which around 120 closely matched the questions that appeared in the actual paper. The Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG) has initiated an investigation and is verifying whether the circulation of the material was linked to organised crime.

The government has now referred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for an inquiry, the agency announced today.

This article went live on May twelfth, two thousand twenty six, at thirty-eight minutes past one in the afternoon.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.