People hold placards during a joint protest rally over the NEET paper leak issue, in Kolkata on July 24, 2026. (Photo: PTI/Enhanced using AI)A Delhi fast-track court on Wednesday took on record the CBI’s 20,000-page chargesheet against 13 accused in the NEET-UG 2026 ‘paper leak’ case, bringing the high-profile exam fraud case a step closer to the framing of charges.Special Judge Anu Grover Baliga of Rouse Avenue Court granted time to the CBI to submit the annexures and listed the matter for August 3. The hearing lasted a few minutes.Baliga was the Delhi High Court’s designated special judge for paper leak cases. Her appointment comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the setting up of fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in exam fraud, following a month-long protest at Jantar Mantar over the paper leak.Also Read | ‘Brought disrepute to nation’: Delhi court denies bail to doctor accused in NEET paper leak caseThe CBI’s caseAs per the central probe agency, the questions were allegedly leaked by National Testing Agency (NTA) panel member and translator P V Kulkarni.After this, Shivraj Motegaonkar, who runs Renukai Chemistry Classes in Latur, allegedly obtained the questions on the premises of Siddhivinayak Hospital run by another accused, Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure.The CBI had claimed that the hospital premises were used to “facilitate access to a chemistry question paper in April 2026”, weeks prior to the May 3 exam.As per the CBI, the paper leak caused several students to die by suicide, and it caused a loss of more than Rs 600 crore to the government exchequer.Story continues below this adTill date, the agency has made multiple arrests in the case, including various teachers and students from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Nashik, Pune, Latur, and Ahilyanagar.What happens next?August 3 will see a detailed hearing on the chargesheet.After considering the chargesheet and hearing arguments from the CBI and the defence, the court will reserve the order on the cognizance.Also Read | Court allowed NEET paper leak accused to take June 21 retest, but NTA withholds his resultAfter cognizance, there will be scrutiny of documents after which arguments on charge will begin.Story continues below this adThe chargesheet was filed for the offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, destruction of evidence and others under BNS; for the offence of criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act; and for offences under the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.The CBI cited 360 witnesses, 422 documents and 43 material objects in this chargesheet. All accused persons are in judicial custody as on date. Two have been denied bail and others are pending.More than 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for this exam. Following the “leak”, the NTA cancelled the exam on May 12. The retest took place on June 21 and the results were declared on July 16.Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More