A Delhi court on Wednesday, 24 June extended the judicial custody of two key accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case — P.V. Kulkarni and Shivaraj Motegaonkar — until 8 July, as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) continues its probe into one of India's most consequential examination fraud cases. The two were produced before the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi on the expiry of their earlier 14-day custody period.

Who Are the Accused

According to the CBI, P.V. Kulkarni, a retired Chemistry professor from Latur, Maharashtra, is identified as the alleged mastermind of the paper leak network. Investigators claim he had been associated with the National Testing Agency's (NTA) question paper-setting process for several years and allegedly misused that access to leak examination content to select candidates through special coaching sessions conducted in Pune.

Shivaraj Motegaonkar, director of the RCC Coaching Institute in Latur — which operates nine branches with its main centre in the city — is alleged to have played a central role in disseminating the leaked paper. The CBI claims the examination questions and answers reportedly reached him nearly 10 days before the NEET-UG 2026 examination was held on 3 May.

What Investigators Found

Searches conducted at the RCC Coaching Institute and Motegaonkar's residence reportedly led to the recovery of a Chemistry question bank containing questions identical to those that appeared in the now-cancelled NEET-UG 2026 examination. The CBI alleges that Motegaonkar procured the leaked paper through Kulkarni and co-accused Manisha Mandhare, who is suspected to have played a key role in the Biology paper leak.

The probe agency registered the case on 12 May following a written complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education. Special teams were subsequently constituted, with searches carried out at multiple locations across the country.

Wider Network Under Scrutiny

Earlier this month, the Rouse Avenue Court extended until 29 June the judicial custody of 10 other accused in the case — including Yash Yadav, Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dhananjay Lokhande, Tejas Harshad Shah, Shubham Khairnar, Manisha Waghmare, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, and Dr Manoj Shirure. The court also permitted the CBI to interrogate certain accused inside jail. In total, the CBI has arrested 13 accused in connection with the alleged network involved in procuring and circulating NEET-UG question papers before the examination.

Re-Examination Conducted Under Heavy Security

Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA) successfully conducted the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on 21 June after the original test was cancelled amid concerns over irregularities. More than 20 lakh medical aspirants appeared at 5,440 examination centres across India and 14 centres abroad. Authorities deployed nearly 7 lakh personnel — including examination staff, police officers, observers, and administrative officials — to oversee the re-test.

Over 95,000 examination rooms were monitored through more than 1.38 lakh CCTV cameras, while over 51,000 signal jammers were installed to prevent electronic malpractice. Security protocols included Aadhaar-based biometric verification, facial authentication, two-layer frisking, and real-time surveillance through command-and-control centre monitoring.

What Comes Next

With the CBI's investigation still active and the court permitting in-jail interrogations, further arrests and charge-sheet filings are expected in the weeks ahead. The integrity of the re-examination — and whether its results hold — will now be closely watched by the more than 20 lakh students who sat the re-test.