A Delhi Fast Track Court on Wednesday, 12 August took cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against 13 accused in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case, setting the stage for charge-framing hearings to begin from Thursday. The matter is being heard before the specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex in New Delhi — constituted exclusively to handle offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

What the CBI Chargesheet Alleges

The CBI filed its chargesheet on 28 July, naming all 13 arrested accused and alleging that confidential NEET-UG question papers were leaked ahead of the 3 May examination through a network involving National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts, middlemen, coaching operators, and others.

According to the probe agency, three NTA subject experts — entrusted with translation, back-translation, and proofreading of question papers — exploited security lapses to smuggle confidential exam questions out of the NTA's Delhi office. One accused, P.V. Kulkarni, allegedly wrote down all 135 Chemistry questions and their answer options on small slips of paper, concealing them while exiting the confidential section. The CBI noted that no frisking or checking of experts was conducted while entering or leaving that section.

Another accused, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, allegedly used her familiarity with NCERT textbooks to reconstruct questions after returning to her hotel room, while Manisha Sanjay Havaldar reportedly noted down Physics questions in brief upon returning to her accommodation.

Security Failures Flagged at NTA

The CBI has highlighted serious lapses in surveillance infrastructure at the NTA office. According to the agency, only 20–25 days of CCTV backup was available, and there was no dedicated live-feed monitoring control room for the confidential section — a gap that allegedly allowed the leak to go undetected.

The chargesheet cites 360 witnesses, 422 documents, and 43 material objects in support of the prosecution's case — one of the most extensively documented exam fraud chargesheets in recent memory.

Charges and Legal Provisions

All 13 accused have been chargesheeted under Sections 315(5), 318(4), 61(2), 238, and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. All 13 remain in judicial custody.

Background: The Fast Track Court and the Re-Examination

The CBI had registered the case on 12 May following a complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 paper. The original examination, held on 3 May, was subsequently cancelled; a re-examination was conducted on 21 June under heightened security arrangements.

The Fast Track Court itself was constituted by the Delhi High Court on 23 July, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of dedicated courts for swift and stringent action in examination paper leak cases. Judicial officer Anu Grover Baliga was appointed as Special CBI Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) to preside over the court, which has jurisdiction over all pending cases under the 2024 Act. This case is among the first major matters to come before it.

With charge-framing set to begin Thursday, the trial marks a critical test of India's newly enacted examination integrity legislation — and of the government's stated commitment to accountability in public examinations.