New Delhi, September 3, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Delhi High Court has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to declare within 24 hours the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination results of two candidates whose scores had been withheld following allegations linked to the question paper leak.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that the candidates had not been named as accused in the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), but had instead been cited as witnesses.
“At this stage, therefore, the petitioners cannot be treated as persons against whom criminal culpability has been established or as having been found guilty of any illegality,” the court said.
The order came on a petition filed by Aditya Vinod Swami and another candidate seeking release of their NEET-UG 2026 Re-NEET results and permission to participate in the ongoing counselling process.
The petitioners had appeared for the May 3 NEET-UG examination, which was subsequently cancelled following allegations of a question paper leak. They later appeared in the re-examination.
Following its investigation into the alleged leak, the CBI filed a chargesheet in which the two petitioners were named as witnesses and not accused. The NTA subsequently issued show-cause notices to them on July 5 and withheld their Re-NEET results.
During the hearing, the NTA said it had withheld the results after receiving information from the CBI that several candidates had allegedly received or shared the May 3 question paper. The CBI, meanwhile, submitted that the petitioners had received the paper, had the “mens rea” to commit the alleged illegality and had paid money to obtain it.
The CBI also told the court that it had taken a liberal view by citing the students as witnesses instead of making them accused.
However, the High Court noted that the allegations in the chargesheet were yet to be established through evidence.
“The charge-sheet filed by the CBI is yet to be tested in accordance with law, and the allegations contained therein would necessarily have to be established by leading appropriate evidence,” the court said.
The court observed that the petitioners were at a “nascent stage of their academic careers” and held that withholding their results merely on the basis of allegations yet to be tested could cause serious prejudice.
The NTA has accordingly been directed to declare their results within 24 hours of uploading of the order and allow them to participate in further counselling, subject to fulfilment of applicable eligibility criteria.
The court also permitted the petitioners, whose counselling results had not yet been declared, to apply offline.
It clarified that the order would not prevent authorities from proceeding against the petitioners in accordance with law if warranted.
The main petition has been listed for January 8, 2027.
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