CBI files chargesheet against 14th NEET-UG paper leak accused

The CBI has filed a chargesheet against Sheshrao Bajrang Suryavanshi, the 14th accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case. A Delhi fast-track court scheduled the next hearing for October 22, as investigations revealed alleged security lapses

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against Sheshrao Bajrang Suryavanshi, the 14th accused arrested in the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case, before a special court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex in Delhi. The specially designated Fast Track Court has listed the matter for hearing on October 22 and directed that a copy of the chargesheet be supplied to the accused.

Suryavanshi was arrested by the CBI in September and subsequently sent to judicial custody after expiry of his three-day remand granted to the probe agency.

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Earlier, the CBI had told the court that Suryavanshi was allegedly linked to another accused, Shubham Khairnar, a career counsellor who was arrested in Nashik, Maharashtra, on May 12 for allegedly circulating the question paper on social media. The latest development comes after the CBI filed a chargesheet against 13 accused in the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case on July 28.

The court had subsequently taken cognisance of the chargesheet. The probe agency had claimed that confidential NEET-UG question papers were leaked before the May 3 examination through a network involving National Testing Agency (NTA) subject experts, intermediaries, coaching operators and other persons.

According to the CBI, three NTA subject experts entrusted with translating, back-translating and proofreading question papers managed to take confidential examination questions out of the NTA’s office in Delhi by exploiting security lapses.

The probe agency found that the accused, PV Kulkarni, 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 CBI also flagged shortcomings in CCTV surveillance at the NTA office, stating that only 20-25 days of CCTV backup were available and that there was no dedicated control room for monitoring the live feed from the confidential section.

The NEET-UG 2026 examination, originally held on May 3, was cancelled following the paper leak controversy, and the re-examination was subsequently scheduled for June 21. The CBI had registered the case on May 12 and investigated the alleged chain of events involving the leakage of confidential questions and their subsequent circulation.

The case is being heard by a specially designated Fast Track Court at the Rouse Avenue Courts Complex, constituted to deal with offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and connected matters.