Delhi Court Takes Action on NEET-UG 2026 Question Paper Leak: What’s Next for the Accused?
Court Proceedings Begin for NEET-UG 2026 Leak Case
New Delhi: On Wednesday, a court in Delhi acknowledged the chargesheet submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concerning 13 individuals implicated in the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak scandal. The court is set to begin discussions on the charges from Thursday.
This development occurred in the specially designated Fast Track Court located at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex, established specifically to handle cases under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, along with related matters.
The CBI had filed its chargesheet on July 28 against all 13 arrested individuals, claiming that confidential NEET-UG question papers were compromised prior to the May 3 examination through a network involving NTA subject experts, intermediaries, coaching operators, and others.
The chargesheet alleges that three NTA subject experts, responsible for translating, back-translating, and proofreading the question papers, managed to smuggle confidential examination questions out of the NTA office in Delhi by taking advantage of security oversights.
One of the accused, P.V. Kulkarni, reportedly wrote down all 135 Chemistry questions along with their answer choices on small slips of paper and hid them while exiting the confidential area.
The CBI noted that there was no protocol for checking or searching experts when they entered or left the confidential section of the NTA.
Additionally, another accused, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, allegedly utilized her knowledge of NCERT textbooks to recreate questions after returning to her hotel, while Manisha Sanjay Havaldar reportedly summarized Physics questions after returning to her lodging.
The agency has also pointed out deficiencies in the CCTV surveillance at the NTA office, indicating that only 20-25 days of footage was available and that there was no dedicated control room for live monitoring of the confidential section.
In support of its case, the CBI has referenced 360 witnesses, 422 documents, and 43 material objects.
The 13 individuals have been charged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, as well as provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The CBI initiated the case on May 12 following a complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education regarding alleged irregularities and the leakage of confidential NEET-UG question papers.
The original NEET-UG 2026 examination, conducted on May 3, was later annulled, and a re-examination took place on June 21 under enhanced security measures.
Currently, all 13 accused individuals are in judicial custody.
This case marks one of the first significant matters to be addressed by the newly established Fast Track Court, which was set up by the Delhi High Court last month in response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for expedited courts to ensure swift and strict penalties in examination paper leak cases.
On July 23, the Delhi High Court established the Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex and appointed judicial officer Anu Grover Baliga as the Special CBI Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) to oversee the court's proceedings.
The High Court has mandated that all pending cases registered under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and related offences be transferred to this newly formed court without delay.