'Digitally Fabricated': NTA Cracks Down on Tampered OMR Sheets; Names 5 NEET-UG Aspirants, Warns Of Strict Legal Action
NTA warned of strict legal action, stating that creating, submitting, or circulating a fabricated, digitally altered, or otherwise forged OMR answer sheet is a cognisable offence under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
- Education News
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New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued a clarification over images of alleged "correct" NEET-UG 2026 OMR answer sheets being circulated on social media, saying the documents are digitally fabricated and were not issued by the agency.
"The images being circulated as the 'correct' OMR are not documents issued by NTA. They are digitally manipulated versions of the candidates' own genuine OMR answer sheets," the agency said.
They also warned of strict legal action, stating that creating, submitting, or circulating a fabricated, digitally altered, or otherwise forged OMR answer sheet is a cognisable offence under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
In a statement dated July 20, the NTA said it had verified the examination records of candidates whose results were being questioned online and found that their declared scores were consistent with the genuine OMR sheets in its possession.
'Genuine OMR of Every Candidate Is on Record': NTA
Addressing the controversy, the NTA said the original OMR answer sheet of every candidate concerned remains on record with the agency.
According to the statement, the genuine sheets contain the correct roll number, test booklet number and code, answer-sheet barcode and serial number, along with the candidate's name, parents' names, signatures and thumb impression, as well as the signatures of the two invigilators.
Further, they said that the OMR sheets were also made available to candidates through their portals and registered email addresses during the OMR Response Key challenge window.
NTA maintained that the scores declared for the candidates were fully consistent with their genuine OMR sheets, the official answer key and the calculation sheets on record.
Rejecting the authenticity of the OMR images being shared online as the purported "correct" versions, the NTA said they had been digitally manipulated from candidates' genuine answer sheets.
According to the NTA, the alterations identified in different cases ranged from the addition of response markings to changes in names and the authenticated signature time of an invigilator.
NTA Responds to Claims of Five NEET-UG Candidates
The agency also issued individual clarifications concerning five candidates whose claims had gained attention on social media: Avaneesh Srivastava, Pratibha Trivedi, Abhay Yadav, Lakshya Singh and Arya Singh.
NTA said it had verified the records in each case and maintained that the candidates' OMR sheets had been correctly evaluated and their scores stood as declared.
In Pratibha Trivedi's case, the agency said the publicly circulated OMR was a heavily modified version of the genuine sheet and maintained that her score of 38 was correct.
Responding to Abhay Yadav's claim that he had left only five questions unanswered, the NTA said his official OMR showed that 44 questions had not been attempted and that his declared score of 164 remained valid.
In the case of Lakshya Singh, the NTA alleged that additional answer bubbles had been digitally shaded on the image being circulated online.
"The image being circulated shows response markings that are not present on the genuine sheet. Additional bubbles have been shaded in by digital means to create a forged OMR sheet," the agency said.
According to the NTA, the genuine OMR showed that Singh attempted 54 questions, with 34 correct and 20 incorrect answers, while 126 questions were left unanswered. His score of 116, the agency said, therefore stood as declared.
Kanpur-based candidate Arya Singh had publicly raised questions about her NEET-UG result, claiming that the OMR sheet uploaded on July 13 contained an incorrect sequence of questions.
Arya claimed that she calculated an expected score of 609 and subsequently raised an objection through the official portal. She further alleged that her result initially showed 540 marks on July 16 before later displaying 167 marks.
Published By : Vanshika Punera
Published On: 20 July 2026 at 15:18 IST