NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: Delhi Court sends Manisha Mandhare to 14 days CBI custody

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Updated - May 17, 2026 06:07 pm IST - New Delhi The CBI has sought 14 days remand of the accused, Ms. Mandhare, to unearth the larger conspiracy and source of the leaked NEET-UG 2026 question paper Photo: Special Arrangement The Rouse Avenue court in the national capital on Sunday (May 17, 2026) remanded Manisha Mandhare, a botany expert and National Testing Agency (NTA) panellist, to 14 days of CBI custody in connection with the NEET-UG Exam Paper leak case. Ms. Mandhare allegedly had conspired with other co-accused persons, including Manisha Waghmare and Prahlad Vittal Rao Kulkarni to leak questions and content to students for a substantial monetary gain. The CBI has sought 14 days remand of the accused, Ms. Mandhare, to unearth the larger conspiracy and source of the leaked NEET-UG 2026 question paper. She was apprehended from a hotel in Mathura. After hearing the submissions of the CBI, Special Judge Colette Rashmi Kujur granted 14 days of police custody of Ms Mandhare to the CBI. She is to be produced before the court on May 30. While granting the custody, the court noted that, allegedly, there is a larger conspiracy angle present in this case, and as per CBI, several other accused persons who are the active members of this syndicate are yet to be identified and arrested, and for this purpose, the custodial interrogation of the accused is sought for 14 days. “Considering the facts and circumstances and nature of the offence and the prayer made in the present application, the application is allowed, and the accused Manisha Gurunath Mandhare is remanded to police custody for 14 days, subject to her medical examination. Let her be produced before the concerned court on 30.05.2026,” Special Judge Kujur ordered on May 17. Investigation officer Deputy SP Pawan Kumar Kaushik produced Manisha Mandhare before the court after her arrest. Senior public prosecutor V.K. Pathak and Public Prosecutor Darshan Lal appeared for the CBI It was argued by the senior public prosecutor for CBI that the accused was in conspiracy with other co-accused persons, including Manisha Waghmare and Prahlad Vittal Rao Kulkarni. It was further argued that the present accused provided examination-related questions/content to selected students in consideration of substantial monetary benefits. It was also argued that the accused is one of the Experts on the Panel of NTA and involved in the process of setting the question papers during which she has gained access to the final question sets of NEET UG 2026, which she subsequently leaked to the students for monetary gain. It was further argued that to date, a total of eight accused persons have already been arrested and remanded to police custody. The CBI counsel argued that to unearth the larger conspiracy and source of the leaked NEET-UG 2026 question paper, accused has to be taken to various parts of the country, to identify and apprehend other co-accused persons, to recover and analyse the digital devices and evidence and financial trail connected to the NEET-UG 2026, custodial interrogation of accused is essential and hence prayed for 14 days police custody remand of the accused. Also read| Testing troubles: On the National Testing Agency, NEET-UG 2026 The court noted that the investigation is at its very initial and crucial stage, and the police custody of the accused has been sought to unearth the larger conspiracy as well as to arrest all the other active members of this organised paper leak gang and also for the recovery of all the relevant incriminating material. As per CBI, the accused is also required to be taken to other parts of the country for the purpose of investigation and for the recovery of the incriminating material related to the exam leak-related issue. The CBI said that the entire process of NTA is under investigation. She also received the money from students. It has to be investigated. Advocates Karan Mann, Akash Chauhan and Nikhil Saroha appeared for the accused. The Counsels for the accused strongly opposed the application, arguing that the accused is about 57 years of age and is a Lecturer by prof

NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: Delhi Court sends Manisha Mandhare to 14 days CBI custody

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NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: Delhi Court sends Manisha Mandhare to 14 days CBI custody

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