A Delhi court has observed that three subject experts accused of leaking the NEET-UG 2026 question paper prima facie committed criminal breach of trust with the National Testing Agency (NTA), which had engaged them to translate the examination paper after they undertook not to disclose its contents.
The observation was made by Fast-track court special judge Ajay Gupta of Rouse Avenue Courts while taking cognisance of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s 20,000-page chargesheet filed earlier this month against 13 people in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.
The court order specifically focused on the role of PV Kulkarni, a Chemistry subject expert, in “taking advantage” of the lack of an adequate security apparatus at the NTA’s headquarters to leak the question paper.
“It prima facie seems from the chargesheet that A-2 (PV Kulkarni) was fully aware that there was no practice of frisking of the subject experts at the designated place, therefore, he took advantage of the situation and took along with him chits/short notes prepared by him discreetly while doing the translation work for his subject,” it said.
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{{/usCountry}}The court said that the three subject experts, Kulkarni for Chemistry, Manisha Mandhare for Biology and Manisha Havaldar for Physics, had clearly given an undertaking before the translation work that they would not divulge examination-related material to anyone else.
“This prima facie shows that these accused persons have committed the criminal breach of trust with the NTA authority which engaged them for the purpose of translation of NEET (UG) 2026 exam question paper of their respective subjects,” the court observed.
The judge further underlined how the questions were leaked through the subject experts and subsequently travelled to students through intermediaries.
“...it is also prima facie clear from the record that all these subject experts, in active conspiracy with other co-accused persons, have in order to obtain the illegal monetary gain, sold the exam related material to the co-accused persons as well as several candidates in the guise of providing coaching to them,” it said.
The court also noted that the accused persons disposed of the leaked questions and destroyed their electronic devices in order to hide evidence, thereby making them liable to be prosecuted under the relevant sections of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
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“It is prima facie clear from the overwhelming incriminating material collected by the CBI through an extensive investigation that all the accused persons, in one manner or the other, formed part of NEET (UG) 2026 Exam leak syndicate and each one of them have played an active role in the dissemination and circulation of the exam question paper of all three subjects,” the court said.
The matter is now at the stage of scrutiny of documents and has been listed for arguments on charge to begin from next week.
The CBI had earlier this month filed a chargesheet against all 13 arrested accused in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case, saying its investigation had traced the leak from the paper setters to the beneficiary candidates and uncovered the entire chain of the alleged conspiracy.
The chargesheet invokes charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, destruction of evidence, and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The agency said it has relied on 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects to support the prosecution. All 13 charge-sheeted persons are currently in judicial custody.
Among those charge-sheeted are three subject experts contracted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to set the Chemistry, Biology and Physics papers, several alleged middlemen and two persons linked to coaching institutes.
According to the chargesheet, no government official, including any office bearer of the NTA, was involved in the leak. Investigators concluded that the question paper was leaked by teachers contracted to set the examination.