A Delhi court on Monday extended the judicial custody of 10 accused in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, which is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), until July 11.
Ten of the 13 accused arrested in the case were produced virtually before the Rouse Avenue Court after their judicial custody ended on Monday.
The court extended the judicial 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.
From the remaining three accused, the alleged kingpin P V Kulkarni and Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar have already been sent to judicial custody till July 8.
Another accused, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare was sent to 14 days' judicial custody till June 30 by the court.
The CBI has arrested 13 people so far and is investigating the suspected network involved in arranging and distributing NEET-UG question papers ahead of the examination.
On May 12, the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak.
A re-exam was conducted on June 21.
More than 20 lakh medical aspirants took a second shot at the NEET re-exam after the original test was cancelled due to paper leaks, an issue that became a hot potato for the government.
The CBI had registered the case on May 12, 2026 based on a written complaint received from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, pertaining to the alleged paper leak of the NEET-UG 2026 Examination. Immediately after registration of the case, special teams were constituted and searches were conducted at various locations across the country.
Investigation has revealed that PV Kulkarni, a Chemistry Lecturer involved in the examination process on behalf of the National Testing Agency (NTA), had access to the question papers. During the last week of April 2026, he allegedly mobilized students with the help of another accused, Manisha Waghmare, who was arrested by CBI on May 14, and conducted special coaching classes for these students at his residence in Pune.
During these special coaching classes, Kulkarni allegedly dictated the questions along with options and correct answers. The questions so dictated were handwritten by students in their notebooks and have exactly tallied with the actual question paper of the NEET-UG 2026 Examination held on May 3, 2026.
Kulkarni, originally belonging to Latur, was arrested in Pune after thorough interrogation.
(With inputs from PTI)