Advertisement Sign In [Subscribe](https://www.forbesindia.com/subscription "Subscribe") Ask AI Log in/Sign up - [leadership](https://www.forbesindia.com/leadership "leadership") - [innovation](https://www.forbesindia.com/news/innovation "innovation") - [billionaires](https://www.forbesindia.com/billionaires "billionaires") - [startups](https://www.forbesindia.com/enterprise/startups "startups") - [Newsletters](https://www.forbesindia.com/newsletters "Newsletters") - [AI Tracker](https://www.forbesindia.com/ai-tracker "AI Tracker") - [Newsmakers](https://www.forbesindia.com/newsmaker "Newsmakers") - News - Lists - Multimedia - [Cover Stories](https://www.forbesindia.com/cover-stories "Cover Stories") - Thought Leadership - [Life](https://www.forbesindia.com/life "Life") - Partnerships # From Vyapam to NEET: India’s exam leak crises ## Medical entrance tests to government job exams, paper leak scandals have repeatedly triggered protests, cancellations, arrests and court battles across India’s examination system By[Vasudha Mukherjee](https://www.forbesindia.com/author/vasudha-mukherjee/6919) Last Updated: May 13, 2026, 15:34 IST4 min intent New Join Us [Prefer us on Google](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=forbesindia.com) ![Illustration by Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur](https://images.forbesindia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NEETEXAM1200X900-2026-05-638846f0bece2e2dbd888189e8e10cc6.jpg?im=Resize,width=600,aspect=fit,type=normal) Illustration by Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur Advertisement In a Nutshell ✦ RAPID READ India has faced repeated exam leak scandals, from the 2013 Vyapam scam to recent NEET, UGC-NET, and state recruitment test cancellations, triggering protests, arrests, and court cases, raising concerns over the integrity of the country’s examination system. [Launch Rapid Reads→](https://www.forbesindia.com/rapid-reads/from-vyapam-to-neet-indias-exam-leak-crises/2993894) AI-POWERED Student groups protested outside Shastri Bhawan in Delhi, holding placards that read _“Doctor ki degree bikau hai”_ \[medical degrees are for sale\], after NEET-UG 2026, the national-level entrance exam for undergraduate medical courses held on May 3, was cancelled on Tuesday. The National Testing Agency scrapped the test taken by over 24 lakh candidates after allegations of a paper leak emerged. The Central Bureau of Investigation has been asked to investigate the incident. While this is the first time that the examination was cancelled after being conducted, it is the latest in a growing list of exam leak scandals that have hit the national entrance and recruitment test landscape over the past decade. Here’s a look at some others: Also Read [NEET Exam Row: Students in Kota helpless, frustrated, angry and confused](https://www.forbesindia.com/article/take-one-big-story-of-the-day/neet-exam-row-students-in-kota-helpless-frustrated-angry-and-confused/93538/1) ## NEET-UG 2024: Grace marks and Supreme Court hearings The previous major NEET controversy came just two years ago, when more than 23 lakh students appeared for the medical entrance exam amid allegations that question papers had leaked in Bihar. When results were declared, 67 students scored a perfect 720 with some candidates receiving unusual scores such as 718 and 719. NEET marking is based on four marks for every correct answer and a deduction of one mark for every incorrect response, making totals like 718 or 719 mathematically unusual. Advertisement The National Testing Agency later said these were caused by “grace marks” awarded to students who lost time during the examination. Read More As protests and demands for a re-test grew, the matter reached the Supreme Court. The CBI later alleged that the leak originated from Oasis School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, and arrested around 50 people. However, the Supreme Court declined to cancel the exam nationwide, while the CBI later said it found no evidence of a systemic breach affecting all candidates. ## UGC-NET 2024: Exam scrapped overnight The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), conducted in June 2024 to recruit professors and research fellows across universities and colleges, was cancelled a day after the exam. The Education Ministry said cybercrime inputs suggested the integrity of the test may have been compromised. The matter was later referred to the CBI. Also Read [A personal tutor for all](https://www.forbesindia.com/article/30-under-30-2026/a-personal-tutor-for-all/2990145/1) ## SSC-CGL 2018: Viral leak trigger nationwide protests Advertisement One of the biggest examination protests before the NEET controversies came in 2018 after screenshots of alleged SSC Combined Graduate Level (SSC-CGL) examination questions and answers began circulating online. The test is conducted to recruit employees to various government offices. The Staff Selection Commission initially dismissed the allegations as “baseless” but protests quickly spread outside the SSC headquarters in Delhi and to cities like Patna and Bareilly, with thousands of aspirants demanding a CBI inquiry. Opposition leaders also backed the protests. The case was eventually handed to the CBI, which later alleged that answer keys for multiple test papers had been leaked and that some candidate computers were remotely accessed during online examinations. The agency registered cases against 17 people, including candidates, site supervisors and a question-paper custodian linked to a private technology contractor. Advertisement Also Read [Common University Entrance Test (CUET): How the entrance exam becomes a hurdle for students and an opportunity for edtech platforms](https://www.forbesindia.com/article/take-one-big-story-of-the-day/common-university-entrance-test-(cuet)-how-the-entrance-exam-becomes-a-hurdle-for-students-and-an-opportunity-for-edtech-platforms/79277/1) ## UP recruitment exams 2024: Back-to-back cancellations Uttar Pradesh cancelled multiple recruitment examinations in 2024 over paper leak allegations. In February, the state scrapped the police recruitment exam taken by more than 48 lakh candidates; days later, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission’s Review Officer and Assistant Review Officer (RO-ARO) preliminary examination was also cancelled after candidates alleged that question papers had gone viral on social media before the exam. ## TSPSC 2023: Insider leak allegations In 2023, Telangana cancelled multiple Telangana State Public Service Commission (TSPSC) recruitment examinations after investigators alleged that staff had accessed confidential systems to steal and sell question papers. The leak affected Group 1 and assistant engineer recruitment tests. The investigation was eventually transferred to a Special Investigation Team (SIT). ## REET 2021: Rajasthan’s teacher exam controversy Allegations of a paper leak surfaced soon after the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET) in September 2021, prompting heavy police deployment and internet shutdowns in several districts. It became a major political issue ahead of the assembly elections, with more than 16 lakh candidates appearing for the exam for around 31,000 posts for government school teachers. The controversy triggered weeks of protests, leading the Ashok Gehlot-led government to eventually cancel the REET Level-II examination in February 2022. Advertisement Also Read [Inside Kota: Meet the 'JOMO' boys and girls](https://www.forbesindia.com/article/take-one-big-story-of-the-day/inside-kota-meet-the-jomo-boys-and-girls/87123/1) ## Vyapam Scam 2013: India’s biggest exam scam The most infamous examination scandal remains the 2013 Vyapam scam, with largescale fraud and bribery marring the medical admissions and government recruitment examinations conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, commonly known as Vyapam. According to investigators, the scam affected 13 examinations taken by around 32 lakh candidates every year between the mid-2000s and 2013, many of whom allegedly used impersonators, leaked answer keys, and tampered answer sheets to secure admissions and jobs. Advertisement By 2015, more than 2,000 people had been arrested, including politicians, officials, middlemen and candidates. The case was eventually transferred to the CBI by the Supreme Court. The scandal also drew national attention because of the deaths linked to the case—official probe records referred to at least 23 “unnatural deaths”. In 2017, the Supreme Court cancelled the degrees of 634 doctors who had secured admission through fraudulent means between 2008 and 2012, calling the scam a “mass fraud”. Investigations and convictions are still ongoing more than a decade later. First Published: May 13, 2026, 15:34 ## Become a Subscriber Get your hands on our editions for as less as Rs. 1200 a year! 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