The controversy surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 exam has entered a new phase, with the National Testing Agency (NTA) warning of legal action against those who have submitted fake or AI-generated OMR papers even as fresh complaints about their falsification continue to emerge across the country.The latest developments follow the OMR exhibition and challenge window, which was open from July 13 to July 15 (until 11:00 AM). During this time, candidates can view, download and challenge their OMR answers and scanned answers through the official portal. Although a number of people have used the site to report suspected irregularities, the NTA says its investigation has already found errors in some of the documents submitted for review.
NTA research finds modified OMR sheets
The board said it has been closely monitoring the complaints received after the OMR window. According to the NTA, an investigation into two highly publicized cases found that one OMR paper was “generated by AI”, while the other was tampered with.Following the probe, the agency issued a public warning on its X handle, saying that many of the OMR sheets submitted for verification turned out to be fake or AI-generated. It advised students and parents to submit original OMR papers only for verification, adding that any false or AI-generated document may invite action against the complainant.The findings relate to two cases that attracted attention after candidates reported a significant gap between their expectations and their announcements.
New complaints continue to appear
Despite the board’s statement, several candidates have continued to complain about discrepancies between the OMR sheets available on the official portal and the answers they allegedly wrote in the examination.One of the most detailed complaints has come from the candidate Ibtesham Nasar, who wrote several messages on X on July 17. The student said that the OMR paper that was uploaded had a bubble filling pattern that was different from the one written during the exam. According to the records, 12 questions which were intentionally omitted appeared as attempted in the uploaded OMR.The student said that the uploaded OMR was compared with the answers written on the question paper during the examination and most of the answers did not match. The candidate also said that he had challenged almost all the disputed answers, paying Rs 27,800 in opposition fees at the rate of Rs 200 per question, and said that no response had been received from the NTA at the time of submission. The candidate also requested that the verification of the original OMR sheet should be done to investigate the possibility of mismatch or exchange of OMR.Another complaint surfaced on Reddit, where a person said that the OMR paper downloaded from the official NTA website appears to be complete and shows all the attempted answers. However, the candidate later received an OMR attachment which, despite being correct, allegedly showed only a few questions. The candidate said that the Physics section shows five questions attempted instead of 37, while the Chemistry section shows about 20 attempts instead of 44.
Another case emerged in Uttar Pradesh involving advocate Avnish Srivastava. According to his father, the OMR sheet he received through email has the name of another person, Ajit Singh. The man said that a legal document had been submitted to the NTA and the agency had accepted the complaint and indicated that the matter would be investigated.Unlike the two cases in which the NTA investigation confirmed that the submitted OMR papers were AI-generated or tampered with, the new complaint is yet to receive a final, public confirmation from the examination authorities.
The OMR challenge process is over
The OMR portal has created an independent section for the NEET-UG 2026 exam, allowing candidates to download the recorded answers and recorded answers before making objections.With the crisis window now closed, attention has shifted to the organization’s grievances. Although the NTA says that some of the documents issued during this period have been changed, several applicants continue to verify their OMR sheets, while other complaints are still awaiting a public response from the examination authorities.