NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on July 24, refused to grant bail to a doctor accused in the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, observing that the accused had prima facie “sabotaged” the entire examination process, “brought disrepute to the Nation,” and “eroded the trust of honest students” in one of India’s most important entrance examinations.
Special Judge Ajay Gupta rejected the bail plea of Dr Manoj Bhagwanrao Shirure, a paediatrician from Maharashtra’s Latur district, while extending the judicial custody of all 13 accused in the case until August 6. A detailed order is awaited.
The court’s observations reflect the gravity of the allegations surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 examination, which affected millions of medical aspirants across India and abroad. While refusing bail, the court observed that if the allegations presented by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are accepted at face value, they reveal a deliberate conspiracy motivated by greed and illegal financial gain.
The court remarked that the accused persons had allegedly compromised an examination that was expected to be conducted fairly and transparently, thereby damaging not only the credibility of the examination process but also the country’s reputation.
According to the court, the alleged actions resulted in:
- Sabotaging the entire NEET-UG 2026 examination process.
- Bringing disrepute to the nation.
- Eroding the faith of honest students in competitive examinations.
- Causing losses amounting to several crores of rupees to the government exchequer.
The court noted that the paper leak had severely impacted millions of NEET aspirants, making the alleged offence one with far-reaching social consequences.
Opposing the bail application, the CBI informed the court that Dr Shirure allegedly accepted Rs 5 lakh from a candidate’s family and arranged for the candidate to access the leaked Chemistry question paper at his hospital before the examination.
Investigators further alleged that the doctor played a wider role in the conspiracy by introducing two other doctors to the alleged mastermind, PV Kulkarni. According to the agency, the children of those doctors also allegedly received the leaked Chemistry paper after paying Rs 3 lakh each.
The CBI claimed that Dr Shirure facilitated Aditya Motegaonkar, the son of co-accused Shivraj Motegaonkar, in accessing the leaked paper during the third week of April, well before the May 3 NEET-UG examination.
The agency also told the court that the Rs 5 lakh allegedly collected from one candidate’s family was recovered from the residence of the doctor’s sister during the investigation. The investigating agency strongly opposed the grant of bail, arguing that the investigation remains at a crucial stage involving examination of digital evidence, financial transactions, mobile phone records and the broader conspiracy behind the alleged leak.
The CBI argued that releasing the accused at this stage could adversely affect both the investigation and the trial. Rejecting the defence argument that the accused had no prior criminal record, the agency submitted that absence of criminal antecedents alone cannot justify bail in offences of such magnitude, particularly when prima facie evidence indicates conscious participation in a crime that has serious societal consequences.
