A Delhi court on Monday dismissed a plea by three National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG) 2026 paper leak case accused seeking to voluntarily undergo a lie detector and brain mapping examination to “assist” the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. A detailed order of fast-track judge Ajay Gupta of Rouse Avenue Courts was awaited.
The court separately deferred an order on the cognisance of the 20,000-page chargesheet filed in the matter for Wednesday after orally noting that the documents were voluminous and bulky and required further examination.
The CBI opposed the plea moved by three accused, stating they had no right to dictate how the agency’s investigation should be conducted. Senior public prosecutor VK Pathak told the fast-track court it is the prerogative of the CBI to request such a procedure. He argued that the agency has collected “incriminating evidence” against all accused persons and nothing remained to be investigated through a lie detector or a brain-mapping examination.
A narcoanalysis test is a forensic interrogation technique. A suspect is injected with a psychoactive drug to lower their inhibitions and suppress their reasoning ability to extract information that they might otherwise withhold. The Supreme Court has held that a narco-analysis test cannot be conducted on an accused person without their consent, and the results of such tests cannot form the sole basis of conviction in a criminal case.
The CBI argued the entire exercise will be futile and non-maintainable at this stage. If at all, the accused can only move such a request at the stage of defence evidence, it added. The CBI sought imposition of exemplary costs against the three accused persons for moving the plea.
{{/usCountry}}The CBI argued the entire exercise will be futile and non-maintainable at this stage. If at all, the accused can only move such a request at the stage of defence evidence, it added. The CBI sought imposition of exemplary costs against the three accused persons for moving the plea.
{{/usCountry}}The court on August 4 sought the CBI’s response on the plea for voluntarily seeking to undergo the tests without “any coercion to demonstrate their bona fides and assist the investigating agency in conducting a fair and transparent investigation”.
The plea, filed through advocate AP Singh, said the applicants have consistently maintained their innocence from the inception of the investigation and continue to assert that they have neither committed nor participated in the offences alleged against them.
The three sought to assist the investigating agency by voluntarily offering themselves for recognised scientific examination at any government-approved laboratory, so that the agency can explore every lawful investigative avenue.
The NEET (UG) was rescheduled after the test was cancelled on May 12, even though 2.27 million students had taken it across 551 cities. The central agencies found that the question paper had been compromised. Questions were available on some phones as early as May 1, two days before the exam. It was the second time in two years that NEET (UG) came under scrutiny.