The Supreme Court on Friday sought a status report from the Centre on the progress of reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), including the recommendations and implementation roadmap being prepared by the Nandan Nilekani-led committee.
The Bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe was hearing a batch of petitions concerning reforms in the NTA following controversies surrounding the conduct and integrity of NEET-UG and other national-level examinations.
The Centre, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, informed the Court that the Nilekani Committee had conducted exhaustive consultations and was expected to submit its report by the end of September.
Justice P.S. Narasimha asked about the committee’s progress and who was assisting it. The Solicitor General said the Joint Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), was assisting the committee.
The Court directed that the Joint Secretary indicate the progress made and the suggestions received by the committee.
The Bench emphasised that the focus should be on institutionalising the reforms and their actual implementation, rather than merely generating another committee report.
Justice Narasimha said: “We had the Radhakrishnan Committee. What we have today is only a committee report, and full stop. The most important thing is evaluation of the recommendations and their implementation.”
The Solicitor General submitted that the Nilekani Committee would provide a roadmap setting out what needs to be done, at what stage and within what timeframe.
The Court also sought details about the NTA’s infrastructure, manpower and functioning.
Supreme Court indicates it may inspect NTA premises
The Solicitor General informed the Bench that the NTA now has separate permanent premises near Minto Road in New Delhi.
Justice Narasimha indicated that the Bench wanted to see the NTA’s infrastructure and functioning firsthand. He said: “I and my brother would like to visit the premises, someday.”
The Court also stressed the need for institutional permanence within the NTA, including permanent staff.
Justice Narasimha said: “Permanency of the place, permanency of at least half of the staff. Not everybody should be a deputationist. There should be permanent staff.”
The Court further asked about the NTA’s coordination with other institutions and whether its functioning required statutory backing.
According to the NTA’s affidavit, the agency has moved from exam-specific units towards a functional vertical structure intended to develop specialised, domain-specific capabilities. Its leadership has also been upgraded, with a Secretary-level officer serving as Director General and officers from multiple services and domain specialists being brought in.
The affidavit stated that the NTA’s confidential operations had been shifted to a dedicated 55,521 sq ft government facility at Minto Road, New Delhi, with security arrangements including CISF personnel, X-ray screening and metal detectors.
Court seeks affidavit on implementation of reforms
The Bench directed the Joint Secretary, DoPT, who is coordinating with the High-Powered Committee, to file an affidavit indicating the progress made.
The affidavit is to be filed within three weeks.
The Solicitor General submitted that the reforms would include filling sanctioned posts, creating specialised verticals, appointing domain experts, strengthening infrastructure and further digitisation.
The Court also asked whether the reforms would be implemented in phases, particularly keeping in view the upcoming examination cycle.
The Centre informed the Court that the Nilekani Committee was conscious of the approaching examination and that suggestions received from the petitioners had been placed before it.
The Court directed the NTA to upload its affidavit on its web portal so that stakeholders could access details of the reforms undertaken so far.
The matter is to be listed after three to four weeks.
The Supreme Court’s earlier intervention in the NEET examination matter followed the 2024 controversy and led to the constitution of an expert committee headed by former ISRO chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan to examine measures for strengthening the NTA and preventing recurrence of examination-related irregularities.
Dr. Mangla Kohli’s intervention taken on record
The Bench also took note of the intervention of Dr Mangla Kohli in the NEET reforms matter. The Court noted that Dr Kohli had been associated with the medical profession and medical education for nearly 35 years and observed that her experience could be a “value addition” to the proceedings.
The Solicitor General also supported the intervention, submitting that someone with experience in the field could assist the Court.
The Court asked Dr Kohli to provide copies of her suggestions for consideration in the matter.
Plea for domain experts in NTA governing body
During the hearing, submissions were also made seeking the involvement of domain experts in the NTA’s governing body, as recommended by the Radhakrishnan Committee. The submission referred to the recommendation for a governing body headed by a non-executive chairman who could be an eminent technocrat, academic or industry leader.
The Court noted that the question of involving domain experts was already being considered by the NTA and the High-Powered Committee. It said: “Once the affidavit of the High-Powered Committee is placed on record, we will know how it is progressing. We will accordingly deal with it.”
Advocate Tanvi Dubey urged the Court to make the reforms time-bound, pointing out that only a few months remained before the next examination.
The Solicitor General responded that the government and the Nilekani Committee were conscious of the approaching examination and that all suggestions had been placed before the committee.