“Why will they destroy records tomorrow?” CJI Surya Kant asked, before the Supreme Court agreed to hear a NEET UG 2026 OMR answer sheet plea on Thursday.
New Delhi: A NEET UG 2026 candidate who alleges discrepancies in the candidate’s OMR answer sheet has secured an urgent hearing in the Supreme Court. On Wednesday the Court agreed to list the plea for Thursday after counsel submitted that the National Testing Agency (NTA) would destroy the original records the next day under its 90-day retention rule [Petition concerning NEET UG 2026 OMR answer sheet].
The matter was mentioned before a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, which directed that it be placed before the Bench of Justice PS Narasimha.
The 90-day clock
Counsel for the petitioner told the Bench:
“The OMR Sheet is under question. NTA will destroy it tomorrow because tomorrow is 90th day…”
CJI Surya Kant first said the matter would be listed on Friday. Counsel pressed for Thursday, explaining that under NTA’s regulations the original records are deleted 90 days after the result, which was declared on July 16.
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A question about delay
The Bench wanted to know whether the petitioner had come to the Court late, and asked about the gap between the examination and the filing of the petition. Counsel said the petitioner had first gone to the Gujarat High Court, where a Division Bench dismissed the intra-court appeal on October 12, before the matter reached the Supreme Court.
“Why will they destroy records tomorrow?” the CJI asked. Counsel pointed to the NTA regulations on deletion, and the Bench then agreed to take the matter up on Thursday.
Other OMR disputes this year
Allegations of mismatched OMR sheets have reached several courts since the NEET UG 2026 results. In August, a Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe disposed of a writ petition by six candidates who said the OMR copies the NTA supplied after the results differed from the answers they had marked, and gave them liberty to approach the Delhi High Court. The candidates had said they wanted only access to their original OMR sheets and did not wish to disturb counselling.
High Courts have since dealt with similar pleas differently. The Bombay High Court directed the NTA to produce the original answer sheets of three candidates, while the Chhattisgarh High Court dismissed a similar plea, finding no mala fide and noting that the candidate had not used the NTA’s grievance mechanism. The allegations in the present plea are yet to be examined, and the Supreme Court has not expressed any view on them.
Case Title: Petition concerning NEET UG 2026 OMR answer sheet (title and number not reported)
Bench (mentioning): Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi
Listed before: Bench of Justice PS Narasimha
Date: October 14, 2026