NEET accused gets jail, another sent to custody

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday dealt with the custody and bail proceedings of three accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, sending one accused to jail and another to police custody, and issuing notice on a bail plea filed by a third.

The three accused- Manisha Mandhare, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar and Manisha Waghmare - were produced before special CBI judge Ajay Gupta.



Seeking further custody of Mandhare, CBI submitted that she is required to be confronted with other accused persons and students, and her further questioning was necessary to probe other aspects of the conspiracy. According to the agency, Mandhare, "in conspiracy with other accused, retained the exam paper and distributed it for money." After hearing the submissions, the court remanded Mandhare in 14-day judicial custody.

In the case of Havaldar, CBI sought a two-day extension of custody. The agency alleged that she was empanelled as a physics translator by the NTA and, "in conspiracy with other accused persons, unauthorisedly retained and distributed the NEET-UG paper for monetary considerations". The court granted CBI's request.

On the bail application of Waghmare, who sought release on medical grounds, the court issued a notice to CBI seeking its response and listed the matter for hearing on June 5.