NEET paper leak case: Three subject experts sneaked questions out of NTA office, says CBI

NEET-UG exam paper leak row: Three subject experts took NEET exam questions out of the NTA office in Delhi using different methods, according to the CBI probe into the NEET-UG paper leak. One expert wrote questions on small paper chits and hid them, while two others memorised questions and later wrote them down or marked relevant paragraphs in NCERT textbooks after returning to their hotel rooms.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the CBI said they managed this because they were not frisked while entering or leaving the confidential section on the first floor of the National Testing Agency office. The agency also noted the wing lacked a dedicated CCTV live-feed monitoring control room. These findings are part of a chargesheet filed on July 28 before a Delhi fast-track court, naming 13 people.

The three subject experts identified by the CBI are NTA Biology expert Manisha Mandhare, NTA Chemistry expert Pralhad Vithalrao Kulkarni, and NTA Physics expert Manisha Sanjay Havaldar. They were given plain paper sheets inside the NTA's confidential section for translation rough work, the report added.

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The probe found that Kulkarni used those sheets to make small chits and allegedly wrote all 135 Chemistry questions in brief along with the answer options. He later organised special coaching classes with co-accused Manisha Waghmare and dictated the questions, options, and correct answers to students. Kulkarni carried out back translation for three sets of questions, 135 in total, from March 31 to April 2 this year.

Mandhare, the English-to-Marathi translator for Botany and back translator for Zoology, would return to her hotel room and mark relevant paragraphs in NCERT textbooks. She also conducted special coaching classes for students at her residence in Pune, the report added.

Havaldar was assigned back translation for Physics and proof-reading for three sets. She would note down the questions in brief. The investigation found that the subject experts were not frisked while entering or leaving the confidential section. The agency registered a case on May 12 and found CCTV footage of only 20 to 25 days.

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Meanwhile, the Centre told the Supreme Court it has undertaken a comprehensive overhaul of the conduct of NEET to eliminate paper leaks and systemic failures. In a compliance affidavit filed before a bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha, the Ministry of Education said reforms aim to create a robust and institutionalised system that preserves institutional memory, strengthens examination security, and prevents future incidents of paper leaks or malpractices.

The affidavit was filed in response to the apex court's May 29 direction asking the Union government to explain how future NEET exams would be conducted and how regulatory authorities would build and retain institutional memory to improve examination processes over successive years.

The Centre further told the court that Parliament has strengthened the legal framework against examination fraud through the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, building on the 2024 law that criminalised question paper leaks, impersonation, tampering with computer systems, and other examination-related offences.