NEET-UG paper leak case: Court rejects accused's plea for polygraph, brain-mapping tests

New Delhi: The Rouse Avenue Court on Monday rejected the plea of three accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case seeking directions for conducting polygraph, brain-mapping and lie detector tests on them.

Special Judge (Fast Track Court) Ajay Gupta dismissed the application filed by Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal. The accused had sought the tests, arguing that they would assist in a fair and transparent investigation. Their counsel, advocate A P Singh, submitted that a fair investigation and fair trial are rights guaranteed to the accused under Article 21 of the Constitution.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), however, opposed the application. Senior Public Prosecutor V K Pathak argued that the application was not maintainable and sought costs against the accused, pointing out that the government had already established a special fast-track court to deal with the case.

Meanwhile, the court deferred its order on taking cognizance of the CBI charge sheet. The court said the order was being dictated but could not be completed as the record was voluminous. The order on cognizance will now be pronounced on August 12.

The court also extended the judicial custody of the accused till August 12. The accused persons appeared before the court through video conferencing.

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The CBI has filed a nearly 20,000-page charge sheet against 13 accused in connection with alleged irregularities and paper leakage in the NEET-UG 2026 examination. The agency has cited 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects in the charge sheet.

The accused have been booked for offences including criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and destruction of evidence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

According to the CBI, the Department of Higher Education had lodged a complaint on May 12 regarding alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3. The agency registered an FIR the same day and formed multiple teams comprising 72 officers and personnel, along with eight cyber forensic experts.

The CBI said searches were conducted at 92 locations across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and other states, leading to the seizure of digital devices, communication equipment and documents.

The first arrest was made on May 13, with a total of 13 accused arrested so far, including three NTA subject experts in Chemistry, Biology and Physics. Several alleged middlemen involved in sourcing and distributing the leaked questions, as well as two persons associated with coaching institutes, have also been arrested.

The agency has also frozen several bank accounts, bank lockers and a demat account as part of its investigation into the alleged money trail.