Delhi court flags ‘criminal breach of trust’ by 3 experts in NEET-UG paper leak

A Delhi court has ruled that three subject experts accused of leaking the NEET-UG 2026 question paper violated their trust with the National Testing Agency (NTA) by breaching their confidentiality. Fast-track court special judge Ajay Gupta observed this while reviewing the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) 20,000-page chargesheet filed against 13 people in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case.

The court specifically highlighted the role of PV Kulkarni, a Chemistry subject expert, who allegedly took advantage of the weak security at NTA's headquarters to leak the question paper. Kulkarni, Manisha Mandhare for Biology, and Manisha Havaldar for Physics were all contract experts who had undertaken not to disclose the contents of the examination paper.

The court noted their undertaking and found that their actions constituted criminal breach of trust with the NTA. The leak of questions then allegedly traveled to students through intermediaries as all three experts conspired with others to sell the exam-related material for illicit monetary gain. The court also observed that the accused destroyed their devices to cover their tracks, making them liable under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. The matter now awaits further scrutiny and argument.