The Patna High Court has granted CBI the custody of 13 individuals arrested by the state police in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now authorized to question these accused individuals in custody and to confront them with the key figure Rockey alias Rakesh Ranjan, who was apprehended on Thursday.
The CBI had sought custody of the 13 individuals, initially arrested by the state police and subsequently sent to judicial custody after a brief period of police remand. The Exclusive Magistrate, CBI, Patna had rejected the CBI’s request on July 2, citing that the statutory period for seeking police custody within the first 15 days of arrest had expired.
The central probe agency challenged this order in the Patna High Court, arguing that it had commenced its investigation in June and should be allowed to examine the suspects arrested by the state police. The central agency noted that the accused had not even undergone the full 15 days of police custody.
Sources indicate that the accused were held by the Patna Police and the Economic Offence Units of the Bihar Police for only two to four days before being sent to judicial custody. The CBI contended that it should be granted custody for the remaining period of their police remand, which could range from 11 to 13 days. The High Court agreed with this argument.
A single bench of Justice Sandeep Kumar, considering the seriousness of the case and in the interest of justice, stayed the operation of the order issued by the Exclusive Magistrate. He directed the Exclusive Magistrate to grant custody of the 13 accused to the CBI immediately.
The CBI, which is investigating alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam, has filed six FIRs in the case, resulting in nearly 57 arrests, with 12 made by the central agency and the remainder by various state police forces. Twenty-two individuals have received bail so far.
The FIRs from Bihar concern paper leaks, while those from Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra are related to candidate impersonation and cheating. The CBI’s own FIR, based on a reference from the Union Education Ministry, involves a “comprehensive investigation” into the alleged irregularities in the examination.
The NEET-UG, administered by the National Testing Agency, is used for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in both government and private institutions. This year, the exam was held on May 5 at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates participating.
