New Delhi, October 22 (H.S.): The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of all accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case until October 27. Special Judge Ajay Gupta of the Fast Track Court directed that the matter be taken up for further hearing on that date.

On October 27, the court will hear arguments on the framing of charges against the 14th accused, Sheshrao Bajrang Suryawanshi, alias Raj Suryawanshi. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a supplementary charge sheet against him on October 14, 2026. Earlier, on October 7, the CBI had informed the court that its investigation against Suryawanshi was still underway and that additional time was required to complete it. During Thursday’s proceedings, all the accused appeared before the court through video conferencing.

The court is currently hearing arguments on the framing of charges against the accused. It may be recalled that the Delhi High Court had dismissed a petition filed by accused Dhananjay Lokhande challenging his arrest. The High Court had also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

On August 22, the Rouse Avenue Court rejected Lokhande’s application seeking a copy of his arrest memo. Earlier, on August 14, the court had permitted the CBI to conduct further investigation into the case. On August 12, the court had taken cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the CBI against 13 accused.

The individuals named as accused by the CBI are Yash Yadav, Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Shubham Khairnar, Dhananjay Lokhande, Prahlad Kulkarni, Tejas Harshad Kumar, Dr. Manoj Shirure, Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, Manisha Waghmare, Manisha Mandhare and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar.

The CBI registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused under Sections 315(5), 318(4), 61(2), 238 and 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act; and Sections 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act.

During the hearing on the charge sheet, the CBI submitted that the FIR in the case had been registered on May 12, following which an investigation was launched with the assistance of 72 officers and eight cyber-forensic experts. The agency conducted raids at 92 locations across Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and other states.

The first arrest in the case was made on May 13, the CBI informed the court.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar