NEW DELHI: The NEET UG 2026 OMR sheets controversy continues to grab attention, with another candidate alleging that the answer sheets made available to him by the National Testing Agency (NTA) do not reflect the answers he marked during the exam. After corresponding with the agency and receiving an official response, the candidate says his concerns remain unresolved and has now taken to the media, sharing emails, OMR sheets and supporting documents.TOI Education has reviewed the candidate’s correspondence with the NTA, including the OMR sheets shared with him, his verification search email and the agency’s response. The case has come amid a spate of complaints from candidates questioning OMR records and evaluation following the declaration of NEET-UG 2026 results.
Candidate states that two OMR sheets raise different concerns
Bhavya, who appeared at the Sarvodaya Vidyalaya (Jose Marti) exam centre, RK Puram, Delhi, alleges that the first scanned OMR sheet made available to her on the official portal was blurry and appeared to show all the questions as attempted. According to him, the quality of the scan was significantly lower than that shared with other candidates, making it difficult to verify answers.In her email to the NTA, Bhavya said the answers shown on the scanned OMR did not match the answers she clearly remembered marking during the exam. He also stated that the document appeared visually inconsistent, claiming that some response bubbles appeared to overlap while others appeared “mechanically accurate”. He requested verification of the original physical OMR sheet and restoration of access to his candidate portal, which he said had later displayed an “Invalid Credentials” message.The candidate further wrote that he wanted to see his original physical OMR sheet and requested the agency to compare it with the scanned version uploaded on the portal. He also requested an investigation into what he believed might be a scanning, processing or upload error.
NTA shares score details, issues notice
In its reply to the candidate, the NTA informed him that based on the evaluation of his OMR sheet, he had 85 correct answers, 93 incorrect answers and a total score of 247. The agency said that his scorecard had already been published on the official website and had sent him an email.The reply also warned that “any tampering with your downloaded OMR sheet will result in proceedings under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.”
The candidate says the concerns remain unresolved
According to Bhavya, the agency later shared a clearer version of the OMR sheet. However, he claims that this document also does not match the answers he remembers marking during the exam.He alleges that though he attempted all 180 questions, the revised OMR reflects 178 attempted questions. More importantly, he maintains that neither of the two OMR sheets shared with him correspond to the answers he marked in the examination hall.Following the NTA’s response, the candidate says he again requested access to what he describes as his original physical OMR sheet. According to him, he has not received the verification he sought and is now approaching the media after exhausting the available grievance process.
Questions about redress of grievances continue
Bhavya’s complaint is among several raised by NEET-UG 2026 candidates after the OMR window concluded. In the past few days, candidates from different parts of the country have reported alleged discrepancies related to scanned OMR sheets, recorded answers and score calculations. The NTA has maintained that investigations into some complaints found AI-generated or manipulated documents and warned that fabricated OMR sheets could invite legal action.At the same time, some candidates continue to insist their complaints involve genuine concerns and say they have approached the exam authority with supporting documents, emails and downloaded records. As more such cases arise, the focus is moving beyond the examination itself to the grievance redressal process. For candidates whose medical income depends on a single examination, obtaining a clear, timely and transparent response to their representations remains as important as the assessment process itself.