A Delhi court on Monday extended the judicial custody of 10 accused arrested in connection with the alleged leak of the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper till July 11 as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) continues its probe into the case.
Special Judge Vijeta Singh Rawat allowed the CBI's plea seeking an extension of judicial custody after hearing submissions by Special Public Prosecutor V. K. Pathak.
Ten of the 13 accused were produced virtually before the court after the expiry of their earlier judicial custody.
The court extended the custody of Yash Yadav, Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dhananjay Lokhande, Tejas Harshad Shah, Shubham Khairnar, Manisha Waghmare, Manisha Havaldar and Dr Manoj Shirure until July 11.
Also read: CJP protest: Wangchuk begins hunger strike at Jantar Mantar
Of the remaining three accused, alleged kingpin P. V. Kulkarni and Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar are already in judicial custody till July 8, while Manisha Gurunath Mandhare has been remanded in judicial custody till June 30.
The controversy erupted after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the NEET-UG examination conducted on May 3 following allegations of a paper leak. A re-examination was held on June 21, with more than 20 lakh medical aspirants appearing for the test.
The CBI registered the case on the basis of a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education.
According to the agency, the FIR invokes charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft, destruction of evidence and offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examination.
The investigation into the alleged nationwide examination leak remains underway.
Follow us
