Several students, who appeared for the National Eligibility Test for Entrance (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG 2026, which was re-examined on June 21, took to social media to allege discrepancies between their self-assessed scores and the official results released by the National Testing Agency (NTA), prompting the agency to say it is “investigating all complaints”, while warning that submitting fake or AI-generated OMR papers for verification will invite legal action.
The controversy comes days after the NTA announced the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination results on the night of July 16, which resulted in about 1.1 million, out of nearly two million, medical aspirants qualifying for nearly 1,37,000 seats for MBBS and other undergraduate dental, AYUSH and allied programmes.
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The results came in the wake of a turbulent exam season marked by the NTA canceling the original May 3 exam on May 12 and announcing a re-examination after receiving an email alleging a leak and noting an overlap between the rolling guess sheet and the question paper.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the alleged leak, has arrested 13 people and will file an indictment this month.
Students share examples of score mismatch
Following this announcement, several students shared specific examples of wide gaps between their predicted grades and their final report cards.
Arya Singh, a Kanpur aspirant, told the media: “I calculated 609 marks based on the answer key, but the portal initially showed 540 and then suddenly it dropped to 167. How can this be possible after so much hard work?”
Pratibha Trivedi from Lucknow said she expected around 640 marks after matching her OMR paper with the provisional answer key but got 38 marks. “Genuine complaint. I have emailed NTA three times but have not received any response.”
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Lakshya Singh from Ranchi claimed his calculations predicted a score of 660, but his official result showed only 116. “My OMR paper has a barcode, thumbprint and signature. I did not submit any forged documents,” he said.
Hizb ut Tahrir was unable to independently verify the validity of these allegations.
NTA says complaints are under scrutiny
In a post on X dated July 18, NTA defended its system, claiming that several OMR papers submitted by students for verification had been tampered with. “Students and parents are advised to submit only original OMR reports for scrutiny. Any fake/AI generated OMR reports may lead to legal action against the complainant,” NTA said, adding that it “closely monitors and examines all complaints.”
While the NTA has not officially responded to HT’s queries, an official from the Union Education Ministry confirmed that an investigation is underway. Details on the total number of complaints, including those reported as fraudulent or AI-generated, are expected to be shared “within a day or two,” the official added.
Experts urge patience
Education experts urged students to be patient during the investigation.
Keshav Agarwal, vice president of the Delhi-based Indian Coaching Federation – which represents nearly 1,000 coaching institutions – highlighted possible technical reasons. “Possible reasons may include incorrect assignment of question paper codes, software-related glitches, or tampered scan images in some cases. Students with genuine grievances should use NTA’s official grievance mechanism first,” he said.
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Opposition attacks NTA
The allegations also drew sharp criticism from opposition leaders, with Aam Aadmi Party (APP) leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal calling the NTA a “disgrace on the country” and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accusing the Center of failing to fix accountability over recurring controversies over exams. Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammed also described the NTA as “corrupt and incompetent”.
