Delhi High Court Orders Retest for UGC-NET After Allegations of Question Paper Leak

Retesting of UGC-NET Subjects Announced

New Delhi: On Wednesday, the Central Government informed the Delhi High Court about the decision to conduct a retest for three subjects, including Sociology, in the UGC-NET June 2026 examination due to reported errors in the exam papers.

Justice Jasmeet Singh, while considering the statement made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre, dismissed a petition from a candidate who had taken the Sociology exam on June 30. The candidate sought to halt the announcement of results until an independent investigation was conducted regarding allegations of a paper leak.

The Solicitor General indicated that the English and Commerce retests are scheduled for September 9, while the Sociology retest will occur on September 10.

He noted that the petition was rendered moot since the authorities had opted to retake the exam.

Justice Singh acknowledged the Solicitor General's remarks, stating that the petition no longer had merit and thus was dismissed.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) had administered the UGC-NET June 2026 examination from June 22 to June 30 across 87 subjects, aimed at awarding Junior Research Fellowships (JRF), determining eligibility for assistant professors, and facilitating admissions to PhD programs.

During the hearing, the Solicitor General reiterated the need for a retest, given the serious allegations surrounding the examination.

The petitioner, Aman Singh Yadav, who sat for the Sociology exam, requested temporary relief against the results being declared until an independent investigation into the alleged question paper leak was completed.

The petition highlighted that Yadav had previously submitted a complaint to the NTA regarding significant errors in the exam paper and the alleged leak, but had not received any feedback.

Additionally, the plea called for an independent investigation by the CBI or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the purported leak.

The CBI was represented by counsel Premtosh Mishra during the proceedings.

In response to the complaints, the NTA issued a public notice stating that it had received numerous reports of errors in the question papers for the three subjects and had established a committee to investigate these concerns.

This situation has led to renewed criticism of the NTA, prompting the agency to announce a comprehensive review of its examination processes.