New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) A Delhi court on Wednesday took cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against 13 accused in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case and said it would commence hearing on framing of charges from Thursday. The development came before the specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex, which has been constituted to exclusively deal with offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and connected cases.The CBI had on July 28 filed its chargesheet against all 13 arrested accused, alleging that confidential NEET-UG question papers were leaked before the May 3 examination through a network involving NTA subject experts, middlemen, coaching operators and others.The chargesheet has claimed that three NTA subject experts entrusted with translation, back-translation and proofreading of question papers managed to take confidential examination questions out of the NTA's office in Delhi by exploiting security lapses.

According to the probe agency, one of the accused, P.V. Kulkarni, allegedly wrote down all 135 Chemistry questions and their answer options on small slips of paper and concealed them while leaving the confidential section.The CBI said that there was no practice of checking or frisking experts while entering or exiting the confidential section of the NTA.The Central agency further alleged that another accused, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, used her familiarity with NCERT textbooks to reconstruct questions after returning to her hotel room, while Manisha Sanjay Havaldar allegedly noted down Physics questions in brief after returning to her accommodation.The CBI has also flagged shortcomings in CCTV surveillance at the NTA office, stating that only 20-25 days of CCTV backup was available and that there was no dedicated live-feed monitoring control room for the confidential section.

The agency has cited 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects in support of its case.The 13 accused have been chargesheeted under Sections 315(5), 318(4), 61(2), 238 and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, besides provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.The CBI had registered the case on May 12 following a complaint from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education over alleged irregularities and leakage of confidential NEET-UG question papers.The original NEET-UG 2026 examination, held on May 3, was subsequently cancelled and a re-examination was conducted on June 21 under heightened security arrangements.All 13 chargesheeted accused are presently in judicial custody.

The case is among the first major matters to come before the specially designated Fast Track Court constituted by the Delhi High Court last month following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of fast-track courts for speedy and stringent punishment in examination paper leak cases.On July 23, the Delhi High Court constituted the specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex and appointed judicial officer Anu Grover Baliga as Special CBI Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) to preside over the court.The High Court had directed that all pending cases registered under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and connected offences be transferred to the newly created court with immediate effect.

/IANS