CBI charges 14th accused in NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case at Delhi court
Synopsis
The CBI has now formally charged 14 individuals in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak — and the latest chargesheet lays bare how a single subject expert allegedly walked out of the NTA's Delhi office with 135 Chemistry questions on slips of paper, aided by glaring CCTV blind spots. The Fast Track Court hearing on 22 October will be an early test of India's new exam-integrity law.
Key Takeaways
The CBI filed a chargesheet against Sheshrao Bajrang Suryavanshi , the 14th accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex , New Delhi .
The Fast Track Court has listed the matter for hearing on 22 October 2026 .
Suryavanshi is allegedly linked to career counsellor Shubham Khairnar , arrested in Nashik on 12 May 2026 for circulating the paper on social media.
Kulkarni allegedly smuggled all 135 Chemistry questions out of the NTA office on small slips of paper.
The CBI flagged critical CCTV failures — only 20–25 days of footage available and no dedicated monitoring room at the NTA's confidential section.
The case is being prosecuted under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 ; the original 3 May 2026 exam was cancelled and rescheduled to 21 June 2026 .
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against Sheshrao Bajrang Suryavanshi, the 14th accused arrested in the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case, before a specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex in New Delhi. The court has listed the matter for hearing on 22 October and directed that a copy of the chargesheet be furnished to the accused.
Who Is Suryavanshi and How Was He Linked
Suryavanshi was arrested by the CBI in September 2026 and subsequently placed in judicial custody after his three-day remand expired. According to investigators, he was allegedly connected to Shubham Khairnar, a career counsellor arrested in Nashik, Maharashtra, on 12 May 2026, for allegedly circulating the question paper on social media. The CBI's case against Suryavanshi appears to rest on this intermediary link within the broader leak network.
Key Findings From the CBI Investigation
The CBI has alleged that confidential NEET-UG question papers were leaked ahead of the 3 May 2026 examination through a chain involving National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts, intermediaries, coaching operators, and other individuals. Specifically, the probe found that three NTA subject experts tasked with translating, back-translating, and proofreading question papers allegedly exploited security gaps to remove confidential material from the NTA's Delhi office.
One of the accused, identified as P.V. Kulkarni, reportedly wrote down all 135 Chemistry questions along with their answer options on small slips of paper, which he then concealed before leaving the restricted section. The CBI also flagged serious surveillance failures at the NTA office — only 20 to 25 days of CCTV footage was available, and there was no dedicated monitoring room for live feeds from the confidential area.
Previous Chargesheets and Judicial Process
The CBI had earlier filed a chargesheet against 13 accused on 28 July 2026, which the court subsequently took cognisance of. The latest filing brings the total number of accused formally charged to 14. The agency registered the case on 12 May 2026, days after the leak surfaced publicly and triggered a nationwide controversy over examination integrity.
The case is being adjudicated under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 — a law enacted precisely to address large-scale malpractice in competitive examinations. This marks one of the first major prosecutions under the new legislation.
The NEET-UG 2026 Fallout
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally conducted on 3 May 2026, was cancelled following the paper leak controversy. The re-examination was subsequently scheduled for 21 June 2026. The episode exposed systemic vulnerabilities in India's centralised examination framework and drew widespread criticism from students, educators, and opposition parties. Notably, the NTA itself came under intense scrutiny for what investigators described as inadequate physical and electronic security protocols in its confidential operations.
With the next hearing set for 22 October, the Fast Track Court proceedings will be closely watched as a test of how swiftly the new examination integrity law can be enforced.
Point of View
A 14th now — tells a story not just of individual wrongdoing but of institutional failure. The detail that a subject expert walked out of a high-security NTA vault with 135 questions on paper slips, undetected, points to a security architecture that was largely performative. India's new Public Examinations Act was supposed to be a deterrent, but deterrence only works if the original systems make leaks hard in the first place. Parliament passed the law; the NTA apparently did not update its CCTV contracts. The Fast Track Court proceedings will test whether legal speed can substitute for procedural reform — a question the millions of students who lost a year of preparation deserve answered.
NationPress
14 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the 14th accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case?
The 14th accused is Sheshrao Bajrang Suryavanshi , against whom the CBI filed a chargesheet at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex in New Delhi. He was arrested in September 2026 and was allegedly linked to career counsellor Shubham Khairnar, who was arrested for circulating the paper on social media.
What is the current status of the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case?
The CBI has now filed chargesheets against 14 accused , with the latest filed on 14 October 2026 . The Fast Track Court has listed the case for hearing on 22 October 2026 and is proceeding under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
How was the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leaked, according to the CBI?
The CBI alleges that three NTA subject experts exploited security gaps at the NTA's Delhi office to remove confidential questions. One accused, P.V. Kulkarni, allegedly handwrote all 135 Chemistry questions on small paper slips and concealed them while leaving the restricted area. The papers were then reportedly circulated through a network of intermediaries and coaching operators.
What security failures did the CBI identify at the NTA?
The CBI flagged two critical lapses: only 20 to 25 days of CCTV footage were available at the NTA's Delhi office, and there was no dedicated control room for monitoring live feeds from the confidential section. These gaps allegedly allowed the leak to go undetected.
What happened to the NEET-UG 2026 examination after the leak?
The NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally held on 3 May 2026 , was cancelled following the paper leak controversy. A re-examination was subsequently scheduled for 21 June 2026 , affecting hundreds of thousands of medical aspirants across India.
