4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: May 13, 2026 02:48 AM IST
When the notification of reports of cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 over paper leak flashed across his phone on Tuesday morning, over a week after he had appeared for his second attempt, 20-year-old Shubh Vardhan tried to stay calm.
After months in Kota, Rajasthan, where he was enrolled at ALLEN Career Institute preparing for India’s fiercely competitive medical entrance examination, he had recently returned to his home in Ghaziabad.
More than 22 lakh aspirants across the country like him had appeared for the entrance test this year. Unlike many devastated by the announcement, Shubh said, “It’s valid. If the people have cheated then the exam will be cancelled,” he said, adding, “There will be an opportunity for people who earlier had zero chances as they get more time.”
Members of NSUI protest against NEET 2026 paper leak, outside National Testing Agency Office in New Delhi on Tuesday. (EXPRESS PHOTO BY PRAVEEN KHANNA)
In this attempt, Shubh, who is the son of a government officer and a homemaker, was expecting a score of 400. He said he has been working hard to become the first doctor in his family. For nearly two years, his life had narrowed into the rhythms familiar to lakhs of NEET aspirants with continuous test series, life in hostel rooms.
Across Delhi-NCR on Tuesday, scenes of despair and determination could be witnessed following the announcement.
An 18-year-old student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in South Delhi said, “My honest reaction was a mixture of frustration and resolve. I was disappointed that this uncertainty and administrative incompetency has revived the stress I had finally overcome.”
She added, “It is especially difficult for those who were expecting high scores. It’s a shock beyond comprehension. Nevertheless, I’m hopeful that this unexpected opportunity will allow me to improve and return better prepared. Even as the situation is far from ideal, we have to navigate through it with steady preparation.”
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Members of NSUI protest against NEET 2026 paper leak, outside National Testing Agency Office in New Delhi on Tuesday. (EXPRESS PHOTO BY PRAVEEN KHANNA)
Soon after the announcement, student organisations staged demonstrations outside Shastri Bhawan in Delhi, where heavy police deployment was seen and several protesters were detained.
In a statement, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) described the government’s decision to cancel the examination and order a CBI inquiry as “a victory of student power and the voice of lakhs of aspirants across the country”.
“If the examination system was fair, the Government would not have been forced to cancel the exam and order a CBI probe,” NSUI National President Vinod Jakhar said in the statement. “This clearly exposes the failure of the Education Ministry and NTA.”
The Students’ Federation of India condemned the detention of its activists during protests against the alleged paper leak, saying the controversy had exposed a “nexus between the coaching mafia and the government agencies”. “The NTA, which has been infamous for the mismanagement of exams since its inception, once again continues to prove its inability in the management of exams,” it said in a statement.
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The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also demanded a fair and time-bound probe by central agencies into the alleged paper leak and examination irregularities, saying any compromise with the sanctity of entrance examinations was unacceptable.
