Supreme Court to hear urgent plea on NEET-UG OMR sheet retention

The Supreme Court of India has granted an urgent hearing request in a case centring on the preservation of OMR (optical mark recognition) sheets from the NEET-UG 2026 examination. The development comes as petitioners warned of potential record destruction following the expiry of the prescribed 90-day retention window, which falls on Thursday.

The petitioner approached the apex court seeking intervention to prevent the National Testing Agency (NTA) from disposing of the disputed examination materials. The OMR sheets form critical evidence in ongoing legal challenges related to the NEET-UG examination, with multiple cases questioning the integrity and conduct of the test.

The 90-day record retention period mandated for examination documents has emerged as a flashpoint in the broader controversy surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 test. Petitioners contend that destruction of these materials would irretrievably compromise the ability to investigate claims of irregularities and conduct independent verification.

The Supreme Court's agreement to hear the matter on an expedited basis signals judicial concern over the timing and potential consequences of record destruction. The case underscores tensions between regulatory record-keeping protocols and the preservation requirements necessitated by active legal proceedings challenging examination validity.