CBI Files Chargesheet Against 14th Accused in NEET-UG 2026 Paper Leak Case

The specially designated Fast Track Court has scheduled the matter for hearing on October 22 and directed that a copy of the chargesheet be provided to Suryavanshi.

The CBI arrested Suryavanshi in September. The CBI subsequently sent him to judicial custody after the expiry of a three-day remand granted to the investigating agency.

Earlier, the CBI had informed the court that Suryavanshi was allegedly linked to another accused, Shubham Khairnar, a career counsellor arrested in Nashik, Maharashtra, on May 12 for allegedly circulating the question paper on social media.

The latest chargesheet follows the agency's filing of a chargesheet against 13 accused on July 28. The court subsequently took cognisance of that chargesheet.

According to the CBI, confidential NEET-UG question papers were leaked before the May 3 examination through an alleged network involving National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts, intermediaries, coaching operators and other individuals.

The investigating agency has alleged that three NTA subject experts responsible for translating, back-translating and proofreading examination papers exploited security lapses to remove confidential questions from the agency's office in Delhi.

The CBI's investigation found that one of the accused, P.V. Kulkarni, allegedly wrote down all 135 Chemistry questions, along with their answer options, on small slips of paper and concealed them while leaving the confidential section.

The agency also flagged shortcomings in CCTV surveillance at the NTA office. According to the CBI, only 20 to 25 days of CCTV footage backup was available, and there was no dedicated control room to monitor live feeds from the confidential section.

The NEET-UG 2026 examination, initially scheduled for May 3, was cancelled after the paper-leak controversy, and a re-examination was scheduled for June 21.

The CBI registered the case on May 12 and has been investigating the alleged sequence of events involving the removal of confidential examination questions and their subsequent circulation.

A specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex is hearing the case; it was established to handle offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and related matters.