NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Case: Delhi court extends judicial custody of 10 accused till July 11
A Delhi court extended the judicial custody of 10 accused arrested in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case till July 11, allowing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) additional time to continue its probe into one of the country's biggest examination scandals.
Special Judge Vijeta Singh Rawat passed the order after hearing the CBI's plea, filed through Special Public Prosecutor V.K. Pathak, seeking an extension of the accused's judicial custody for further investigation.
The 10 accused—Yash Yadav, Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dhananjay Lokhande, Tejas Harshad Shah, Shubham Khairnar, Manisha Waghmare, Manisha Havaldar and Dr Manoj Shirure—were produced virtually before the court after their earlier period of judicial custody expired on Monday.
Three other accused in the case remain in judicial custody under separate court orders. Alleged kingpin P.V. Kulkarni and Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar have been remanded till July 8, while Manisha Gurunath Mandhare remains in judicial custody till June 30.
The case stems from the cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG 2026, originally conducted on May 3. The National Testing Agency (NTA) scrapped the examination on May 12 following allegations of a widespread paper leak and subsequently conducted a re-examination on June 21.
More than 20 lakh medical aspirants appeared for the re-test after the cancellation of the original examination, making it one of the largest re-examinations conducted in the country.
The CBI registered an FIR after receiving a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education. The agency is investigating allegations of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft, destruction of evidence and offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The central probe agency has been examining the alleged network behind the paper leak, identifying key conspirators and tracing financial and logistical links connected to the examination fraud. The investigation is ongoing.
