NEET-UG 2024, the medical entrance test taken by 23 to 24 lakh candidates on 5 May, produced 67 perfect scores on 4 June. Grace marks, then evidence of a leak in Hazaribagh and Patna, set off student and opposition protests across India. The Centre cancelled the grace marks, removed the testing agency's chief and handed the probe to the CBI, but on 23 July 2024 the Supreme Court refused to order a re-test, finding no "systemic breach".
Background: a record result
NEET-UG, run by the National Testing Agency (NTA), decides admission to medical courses. The 2024 exam was held on 5 May at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, and was taken by 23.33 lakh students South First. Other reports put the number at around 24 lakh ThePrint.
Results were due on 14 June but were released on 4 June. 67 students scored a perfect 720, six of them from one centre in Haryana ThePrint Tribune.
The grace marks and the NTA's explanation
NTA's position The NTA said 44 of the 67 perfect scores came from a revised answer key for one physics question, after experts found old and new NCERT editions made two options correct. Six came from "compensatory marks" given to 1,563 candidates at centres where exam time was lost, using a formula from a 2018 Supreme Court judgment. It said "the integrity of the examination was not compromised" Careers360.
On 13 June, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said: "There is no evidence of a paper leak in NEET-UG. The allegations of corruption in NTA are unfounded." Careers360/PTI South First
The same day, the Centre told a Supreme Court vacation bench that the grace marks were cancelled and the 1,563 candidates could take a re-test on 23 June or keep their marks without the grace marks. The bench called this "fair, reasonable and justified" Tribune. Only 813 of the 1,563 sat the re-test Business Today. None scored 720, so the number of toppers fell from 67 to 61 Careers360.
The leak: Patna and Hazaribagh
The leak first surfaced in Patna, where a case was registered at Shastri Nagar police station Outlook. Claim · Accused, in police confessions Four candidates arrested by Bihar's Economic Offences Unit (EOU) said they were made to memorise questions and answers at a house in Patna's Ramakrishna Nagar on the night of 4 May. Middlemen Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand said each was charged nearly Rs 32 lakh, and that Danapur municipal junior engineer Sikandar Yadavendu brought the students to them Tribune.
By 23 June the EOU had arrested 18 people. It said a partly burnt paper from the Patna safe house matched the NTA's reference paper, and that the paper came from a private school in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand Tribune/PTI Business Standard/PTI.
Protests on the streets
On 12 June in Shimla, the SFI, the RSS-linked ABVP and the Congress-linked NSUI held separate protests, all demanding a probe Tribune. On 13 June candidates gathered at Jantar Mantar in Delhi with the slogan "24 lakh students want exam, not scam" Careers360/PTI.
Protests grew after the UGC-NET was cancelled. On 20 June police detained members of the NSUI, SFI, AISA, BAPSA, DSF and KYS outside Pradhan's residence; a police officer told PTI that over 50 were released that evening. The SFI alleged that "Female students were heckled and manhandled brutally" Maktoob Careers360. The same day the ABVP burnt an effigy of the NTA at Delhi University; its Delhi leader Harsh Attri said "NTA has become the synonym of corruption" Careers360.
More detentions followed in Delhi:
- 24 June: over two dozen students, some from the NSUI, were detained at Jantar Mantar during a "Chhatra Sansad Gherav" on the first day of the new Lok Sabha. Police said no permission had been given for the march ETV Bharat/PTI.
- 26 June: over a dozen students from the JNU students' union, AISA and KYS were detained at Jantar Mantar. Police said protests are not allowed there beyond 5 pm Careers360/PTI.
- 27 June: NSUI members led by national president Varun Choudhary entered the NTA headquarters in Okhla and chained its door shut, demanding the agency be banned Tribune/PTI.
- 2 July: on the seventh day of an "India against NTA" sit-in, over a dozen students were detained marching from Patel Chowk towards Parliament Business Standard/PTI.
The row in Parliament
On 28 June opposition parties demanded a debate on NEET. Speaker Om Birla refused the adjournment motions, and Congress said Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's microphone was cut off while he spoke Deccan Herald Scroll. Gandhi said the opposition wanted "a joint message to the students of India".
The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day. In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge entered the well, which Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said had never happened before AIR. Pradhan said the government was ready to discuss NEET if the opposition kept decorum and that "the CBI is going to nab everyone involved" Deccan Herald.
How the government responded
- UGC-NET cancelled: on 19 June the Education Ministry cancelled the UGC-NET taken by over 9 lakh candidates a day earlier, after inputs from the Home Ministry's I4C cyber crime unit that its integrity "may have been compromised", and referred it to the CBI Careers360 The News Minute.
- Anti-paper-leak law in force: the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, passed in February 2024, was brought into force from 21 June. Unfair means carry 3 to 5 years in jail and fines up to Rs 10 lakh; organised paper leak crimes carry 5 to 10 years and a fine of at least Rs 1 crore Verdictum Kashmir Life/PTI.
- NTA chief removed: on 22 June the Centre removed NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh and put him on "compulsory wait". Pradeep Singh Kharola got additional charge. The Health Ministry postponed NEET-PG, due the next day, as a "precautionary measure" ThePrint ETV Bharat.
- Expert committee: a seven-member panel under former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan was set up to recommend exam reforms Newslaundry.
- CBI probe: the CBI registered a case on 23 June on a reference from the Education Ministry and took over the Bihar probe Tribune/PTI.
The Supreme Court
On 11 June the court said the "sanctity of the examination has been affected" but did not stay counselling Tribune.
On 23 July a bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ruled. It said it was "not in dispute" that the paper leaked at Hazaribagh and Patna, and that CBI material indicated about 155 students from those centres "appear to be the beneficiaries of the fraud". But it found no material that the result was vitiated or "that there was a systemic breach", and said a fresh exam would hurt over two million students. Any student later found to have cheated could lose admission even after counselling SCC Online South First.
The bench also accepted an IIT Delhi expert view that only one option was correct in the disputed physics question and told the NTA to recalculate results SCC Online. In its reasoned judgment on 2 August, it said the NTA "must now avoid flip-flops" and widened the Radhakrishnan panel's remit Morung Express/IANS. A review plea was dismissed on 22 October 2024 DD News.
The CBI case
Claim · CBI chargesheet According to the CBI, Pankaj Kumar was let into the Oasis School control room on 5 May by principal Ahsanul Haque, the NTA's city coordinator, and vice-principal Imtiyaz Alam, the centre superintendent. He opened a trunk, photographed a paper and resealed it. Medical students solved the paper at a Hazaribagh guest house, and it was passed to candidates who had paid in advance Kashmir Life/PTI Tribune.
The CBI filed its first chargesheet against 13 people on 1 August 2024, a second against six on 20 September and a third against 21 in early October Outlook Tribune Business Standard. It said it had identified 144 paying candidates and arrested 49 people Kashmir Life/PTI. After a fifth supplementary chargesheet in November 2024, the CBI put the total chargesheeted at 45 ETV Bharat.
Bihar's EOU arrested Sanjeev Kumar alias Sanjeev Mukhiya, named in reports as the alleged mastermind, in Patna on the night of 24-25 April 2025 Careers360/PTI. He got bail on 1 August 2025 when no chargesheet was filed within 90 days ETV Bharat. In July 2026 the CBI said it "did not come across any evidence" of his involvement in the 2024 theft Medical Dialogues/PTI.
Timeline
Exam held
Paper stolen at Hazaribagh that morning, the CBI alleges Kashmir Life/PTI.
Results out early
67 candidates score 720 ThePrint.
Grace marks scrapped
Re-test offered to 1,563 Tribune.
UGC-NET, NTA chief, CBI
UGC-NET cancelled, NTA chief removed, CBI case filed ETV Bharat.
Parliament disrupted
Both Houses adjourned over NEET AIR.
No re-test
Supreme Court rules out a fresh exam SCC Online.
Trial begins
Evidence due to start in the Patna CBI court Medical Dialogues.
Both accounts
Protesters' and opposition account
Students said the perfect scores, grace marks and Bihar arrests showed the exam was compromised. The SFI said grace marking was not in the NTA's published guidelines Tribune. Left and Congress-linked groups demanded the NTA be scrapped and Pradhan resign; the ABVP demanded a CBI probe of the NTA's "entire mechanism" Morung Express. Rahul Gandhi said arrests in Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana showed "planned and organised corruption" Morung Express/IANS.
Government and NTA account
The NTA explained the toppers and first denied any leak Careers360. The Education Ministry later called the malpractices "localised" or "isolated" and said it was not fair to harm candidates who passed rightfully ETV Bharat/PTI. Police said detentions were for unpermitted marches or staying past 5 pm at Jantar Mantar. After the 2 August verdict, BJP's Amit Malviya said Gandhi should apologise Morung Express/IANS.
Outcome
- Exam: not cancelled; grace marks scrapped, 813 took the re-test.
- Accountability: NTA chief removed; UGC-NET and NEET-PG called off, with fresh dates promised.
- Arrests: 49 arrested in the CBI case; 45 chargesheeted by the CBI's 2024 count, 54 by a September 2026 report.
- Reforms: Public Examinations Act in force from 21 June 2024; the NTA limited to entrance exams from 2025 Careers360.
Where things stand now
The Radhakrishnan panel filed its report, and on 7 April 2025 the Supreme Court closed the case after the Centre said it had accepted every recommendation except moving NEET online, which Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said "will take some time" Careers360/PTI.
In September 2026 Special Judge Mohammad Rustam of CBI Court-II in Patna framed charges against 52 accused, including the school principal and vice-principal, and ordered the CBI to begin leading evidence from 1 October 2026 Medical Dialogues. Counts differ: the CBI said in July 2026 it had chargesheeted 45 people; the September report said 54, with proceedings against two separated Medical Dialogues/PTI.
On 12 May 2026 the NTA cancelled NEET-UG 2026, taken by about 22 lakh students, over leak allegations and handed the probe to the CBI Newslaundry. That set off the 2026 protests recorded on our CJP protests page.
Questions people ask
Was the NEET-UG 2024 paper actually leaked?
The Supreme Court said it was "not in dispute" that the paper leaked at Hazaribagh and Patna, but found no evidence of a systemic leak.
Why did 67 students get 720 in NEET 2024?
The NTA said 44 gained from a revised physics answer key and six from grace marks for lost time. After the re-test, 720 scorers fell to 61.
Why did the Supreme Court not order a NEET re-test?
It found no material that the whole result was vitiated, said tainted students could be separated from honest ones, and said a fresh exam would disrupt admissions for over two million students.
Sources
- Careers360: 1,563 NEET 2024 candidates got grace marks, 44 in AIR 1 due to physics question, clarifies NTA, 6 Jun 2024
- Tribune: NTA scraps grace marks to 1,563 NEET students, gives retest option on June 23, 13 Jun 2024
- Careers360/PTI: NEET UG candidates protest, demand probe into alleged exam paper leak, 13 Jun 2024
- South First: No evidence of NEET paper leak, Union Education minister, 13 Jun 2024
- Tribune: ABVP, SFI, NSUI on same page over NEET-UG 'scam', 13 Jun 2024
- Careers360: UGC NET June 2024 cancelled, 'integrity of exam may be compromised', 19 Jun 2024
- The News Minute: Union Govt cancels UGC-NET after integrity of exam 'compromised', 19 Jun 2024
- Careers360: NSUI members detained for protesting outside education minister's house, 20 Jun 2024
- Careers360: ABVP burns effigy of NTA in protest over exam irregularities, 20 Jun 2024
- Maktoob: Delhi students manhandled, detained for protesting UGC-NET cancellation, 20 Jun 2024
- Morung Express: ABVP calls for exemplary action against guilty, demands CBI probe, Jun 2024
- Tribune: Paid Rs 32 lakh for NEET paper, 4 Bihar students tell police, 21 Jun 2024
- Verdictum: Centre notifies Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, Jun 2024
- Kashmir Life/PTI: Centre brings into force stringent law to curb irregularities in exams, 22 Jun 2024
- Newslaundry: Centre notifies anti-paper leak law, forms committee to review NTA, 22 Jun 2024
- ThePrint: NTA chief Subodh Kumar Singh removed amid uproar over NEET, UGC-NET controversies, 22 Jun 2024
- ETV Bharat: NTA DG sacked amid NEET row; NEET-PG postponed, 22 Jun 2024
- Tribune/PTI: 5 more arrested in Bihar for alleged irregularities in NEET-UG, 23 Jun 2024
- Business Standard/PTI: Police arrest five more in NEET-UG 'paper leak' case, 23 Jun 2024
- Business Today: Only 813 of 1563 candidates appeared for re-exam, 23 Jun 2024
- ETV Bharat/PTI: Over 2 dozen students detained during march to Parliament, 24 Jun 2024
- Careers360/PTI: JNU students detained for protesting at Jantar Mantar, 26 Jun 2024
- Tribune/PTI: NSUI barges into NTA headquarters, locks its office, 27 Jun 2024
- Deccan Herald: Lok Sabha sees pandemonium over NEET issue, 28 Jun 2024
- Scroll: Opposition demands discussion on NEET, House adjourned, 28 Jun 2024
- All India Radio: Lok Sabha adjourned amid uproar by opposition over NEET, 28 Jun 2024
- Careers360: NEET 2024 re-exam result, toppers drop from 67 to 61, Jul 2024
- Business Standard/PTI: Over dozen students detained during march to Parliament, 2 Jul 2024
- SCC Online: No re-test for NEET UG 2024 as Supreme Court finds no systemic breach, 23 Jul 2024
- South First: Supreme Court refuses to cancel or order re-test of NEET-UG, 23 Jul 2024
- Morung Express/IANS: No systemic breach except at Hazaribagh and Patna, says SC, 2 Aug 2024
- Outlook: CBI files first chargesheet, names 13 accused, 1 Aug 2024
- Tribune: CBI files second chargesheet against 6 accused, 20 Sep 2024
- Business Standard: CBI files third chargesheet against 21, 6 Oct 2024
- Tribune: 21 accused named in third CBI chargesheet, 6 Oct 2024
- Kashmir Life/PTI: 144 aspirants had paid to get leaked NEET-UG paper, says CBI, Oct 2024
- DD News: SC dismisses review plea on NEET-UG 2024 re-examination, Oct 2024
- ETV Bharat: CBI files 5th supplementary chargesheet, Nov 2024
- Careers360: NTA to not hold recruitment exams, will be restructured in 2025, 17 Dec 2024
- Careers360/PTI: SC closes case as Centre assures to implement suggested reforms, 7 Apr 2025
- Careers360/PTI: Bihar Police arrests 2024 NEET paper leak case mastermind from Patna, 25 Apr 2025
- ETV Bharat: NEET paper leak prime accused gets bail as CBI fails to file chargesheet, 2 Aug 2025
- Newslaundry: Why NEET-UG 2026 has been cancelled, 12 May 2026
- Medical Dialogues/PTI: CBI says prime accused not involved in question paper theft, 23 Jul 2026
- Medical Dialogues: Patna CBI court frames charges against 52 accused, trial to begin on October 1, 26 Sep 2026