A CBI team arrives at the Special Operations Group headquarters in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case investigation, in Jaipur, on May 12, 2026.
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SC stresses need for fair and impartial probe in matter in Twisha Sharma's death
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Rekha Sharma, mother of former model-turned-actor Twisha Sharma, and other family members, during the last rites of Twisha, at Bhadbhada Cremation Ground in Bhopal, on May 24, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
The Supreme Court today (May 25, 2026) is hearing the suo motu matter concerning alleged institutional bias and procedural discrepancies in Twisha Sharma death case. A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi is scheduled to hear the matter. Sharma (33) was found dead at her matrimonial home in Bhopal on the night of May 12. The actor-model had married Samarth Singh, a lawyer, on December 25 last year. Her family has levelled allegations of mental harassment and financial demands against Mr. Singh and his mother.The top court’s intervention comes amid mounting allegations by Sharma’s family regarding the manner in which the probe into her death was handled. The family has alleged procedural lapses, institutional bias, and tampering with evidence, while also seeking scrutiny of phone records and other material connected to the case.Follow live updates here:May 25, 2026 11:24 Don't reduce victim's family's pain to sound bites: Supreme Court to mediaDuring the suo motu hearing on the Twisha Sharma death case, the CJI-led Supreme Court bench also made note of the media coverage the case has been receiving. The bench urged media to observe restraint while reporting developments, and asked not to record statements of victim’s family and “reduce their pain to sound bites”-
PTIMay 25, 2026 11:20 SC stresses need for fair and impartial probe in matterTerming Twisha Sharma’s death as “unfortunate”, the Supreme Court stressed the need for fair and impartial probe in matter.The CJI-led bench also noted that probe into the case has been recommended to be conducted by CBI. “We are in pain because of some of the actions, let things move as per law and procedure,” the bench said. -
PTIMay 25, 2026 11:13 SC hails Madhya Pradesh HC for promptly ordering second autopsy of model-actor Twisha SharmaThe CJI-led bench hailed the Madhya Pradesh High Court for promptly ordering second autopsy of model-actor Twisha Sharma. The second autopsy was conducted a day earlier on the directions of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Sharma’s family had raised doubts over the first post-mortem conducted by doctors of AIIMS Bhopal where the accused mother-in-law Giribala Singh’s sister is a senior doctor, and stuck to their demand of a second impartial examination. -
PTIMay 25, 2026 11:06 12 days after death, family bids tearful farewell to Twisha Sharma; second autopsy done The last rites of Twisha Sharma were performed in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal on Sunday (May 24, 2026), hours after a second autopsy was conducted on the body by an expert panel of AIIMS New Delhi, 12 days after she was found dead at her marital home here. Dozens of ex-servicemen, family and relatives and locals turned up to pay tributes at Bhopal’s Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat with her brother Major Harshit Sharma performing the rituals on Sunday evening even as her mother appeared inconsolable. Click below to read more on this:Dowry case: 12 days after her death and second autopsy, Twisha Sharma cremated in BhopalTwisha Sharma cremated in Bhopal amid dowry harassment allegations against her husband and mother-in-law following her tragic death.May 25, 2026 11:05 Supreme Court registers suo motu case over death of Twisha Sharma The Supreme Court on Saturday (May 23, 2026) registered a
suo motu case concerning the alleged dowry death of Noida resident Twisha Sharma amid allegations by her family that her in-laws tampered with evidence and that the investigation suffered from procedural irregularities.A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi a
Students’ organisation members stage a protest against the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the alleged paper leak concerns following the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
A Pune school principal, arrested in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, allegedly shared examination-related questions and content with a few students for monetary benefits, the CBI has told a court in Pune.The federal agency made the submission while seeking the remand of school principal Manisha Sanjay Havaldar, sources said on Sunday (May 24, 2026).The Central Bureau of Intelligence (CBI) arrested Ms. Havaldar on Friday (May 22, 2026), calling her another "source" of the alleged paper leak. Ms. Havaldar, the principal of Seth Hiralal Saraf Prashala, worked as an empanelled translator for Physics for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG)-2026.Following her arrest, she was produced before a court in Pune and is currently in transit remand. She is likely to be produced in a Delhi court on Monday (May 25, 2026).The CBI informed the Pune court that its investigation into the case showed that Ms. Havaldar, in collusion with botany teacher Manisha Mandhare, now in custody, allegedly shared NEET-related questions and content with a few students in exchange for monetary benefits.Sources said the CBI told the court that handwritten notes containing NEET-related questions were prepared and retained by Havaldar during her NTA (National Testing Agency) assignment.The confidential material was allegedly used to convey examination-related content to some students before the NEET UG-2026 exam through WhatsApp and printouts.Ms. Havaldar admitted to sharing Physics questions from NEET UG-2026, which she had translated or reverse-translated, with one student and with Manisha Mandhare, a botany lecturer from Modern College of Arts and Science in Pune, the sources said.The probe found that Ms. Havaldar allegedly received ₹20,000 from one student and ₹25,000 from another person, CBI told the court, according to the sources.Ms. Havaldar allegedly deleted all her chats with Ms. Mandhare and burnt the notes containing the Physics question bank, they added.On May 12, the National Testing Agency cancelled the NEET-UG held on May 3 for medical admissions following allegations of paper leak. A re-examination has been scheduled for June 21.The CBI registered its case in the matter on the same day, based on a written complaint by the Department of Higher Education under the Education Ministry.So far, 11 accused have been arrested in this case from Delhi, Jaipur, Gurugram, Nasik, Pune, Latur and Ahliyanagar, a CBI spokesperson said on Friday (May 22, 2026).The investigation so far has brought out the actual source of the paper leak, the agency said. Published - May 25, 2026 10:14 am IST
Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The CBI has searched the residences of three students in Nagpur and Chandrapur districts as part of its probe into the NEET paper leak. The agency has also taken into custody a tutor from Latur and suspects that one thousand students may have purchased the leaked paper.The Economic Offences Wing of the CBI in New Delhi has registered a case related to the leak of the NEET biology and chemistry papers. On Monday (May 18, 2026), the agency took Prof. Shivraj Motegaonkar, the director of ‘RCC Classes’ in Latur, into custody.On Tuesday (May 18, 2026), CBI teams carried out search operations in Nagpur. The action followed information received by the agency about mobile phone numbers of some students in the city.A team from New Delhi, along with CBI personnel in Nagpur, raided the houses of two students from Nagpur and one student from Brahmapuri taluka in Chandrapur district. Documents and notes were seized from the premises. The CBI is checking the seized notes for any match with the leaked paper.The agency suspects that one thousand students bought the paper in a fraud. It is also investigating whether the three students purchased the paper or forwarded it to others.CBI teams are conducting search operations at places across the country, including in Nagpur and Chandrapur. However, agency sources said on condition of not being named that Nagpur is not the centre of the paper fraud. The probe is examining if three students from the Vidarbha region also bought the paper. Published - May 20, 2026 09:05 am IST
The central agency had questioned RCC founder Shivraj Motegaonkar for nearly eight hours on May 15. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is probing the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, conducted searches at the main office of Renukai Chemistry Classes (RCC) in Maharashtra’s Latur city on Sunday (May 17, 2026), sources said.CBI officials began the search at RCC in the city’s Shivnagar locality in the afternoon, and it was still underway till late evening, they said.The central agency had questioned RCC founder Shivraj Motegaonkar for nearly eight hours on Friday (May 15, 2026) at his residence, located in the same area.Sources said the CBI suspects that some doctors from Latur had purchased the "leaked" NEET examination paper.A CBI team has been camping in Latur for the past four days.The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres.Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA (National Testing Agency) across the country.According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the exam was held. It said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for “independent verification and necessary action”.CBI has so far arrested many individuals from Maharashtra in connection with the case. It arrested Pune-based Biology lecturer Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, part of the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) paper-setting committee, on Saturday (May 16, 2026) after questioning her at its headquarters in Delhi. Published - May 18, 2026 01:53 am IST
The Congress on Saturday (May 16, 2026) demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG paper leak row, with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleging that the scandal was the result of a “money-making racket” involving people linked to the ruling establishment.In a video statement posted on X, Mr. Gandhi alleged that the leaked NEET question paper had been circulated on WhatsApp two days before the examination was held, destroying years of hard work of 22 lakh students. He also accused the Narendra Modi-led government of “running away” from accountability.
“The Prime Minister should immediately seek the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan ji or sack him. And those who are guilty of the paper leak should be in jails,” Mr. Gandhi said.Also Read | NEET paper leak row: Youth Congress protests in Delhi, chief Uday Bhanu Chib detained“This is a nexus between the people belonging to the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh], BJP and the Vice-Chancellors of universities who owe their allegiance to the RSS. It’s a result of the nexus to make money,” he added.Editorial | Testing troubles: On the National Testing Agency, NEET-UG 2026Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that under the BJP government, “Amrit Kaal” was proving to be “Mrit Kaal” (era of death) for students preparing for competitive examinations, referring to reports of suicides by NEET aspirants following the controversy.“According to reports, several students have committed suicide due to the trauma caused by the NEET paper leak scandal. Ritik Mishra from Lakhimpur Kheri, 20-year-old Anshika Pandey from Delhi, Pradeep Meghwal from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, and a student from Bengaluru residing in Goa — all have taken this tragic, suicidal step,” Mr. Kharge said in a post on X.Mr. Kharge alleged that more than 90 examination papers had been leaked during the Modi government’s tenure, adversely affecting over 90 million students and their families. He also accused the BJP of patronising a “paper-leak mafia” that was undermining the credibility of public examinations.“The Union Education Minister must resign immediately,” Mr. Kharge added.Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh also attacked the government, alleging that the Education Ministry’s “incompetence is matched only by its Minister’s arrogance”.Sharing a media report on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education’s recommendations on the National Testing Agency (NTA), Mr. Ramesh said the government had failed to heed repeated warnings on examination reforms.“The Modi government’s education ecosystem — populated by third-rate academic mediocrities — has proven itself to be supremely incompetent, politicised, and corrupt over the last few years,” he alleged.Mr. Ramesh cited controversies ranging from the NCERT textbook row, the UGC’s draft regulations on Vice-Chancellor appointments, the NAAC bribery scandal, the ICHR controversy, vacancies in higher educational institutions and paper leaks.He also criticised Mr. Pradhan for allegedly dismissing the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education on the ground that it included Opposition members.“The Prime Minister takes great pride and gives great publicity to his annual Pariksha pe Charcha extravaganza. What the need of the hour is a ‘Pariksha ki Samiksha’ [review of exam]. The Education Minister doesn’t appear to be cut out for the task,” Mr. Ramesh said.The remarks came a day after Mr. Pradhan announced that the NEET-UG re-examination would be held on June 21 and that the medical entrance examination would be conducted in a computer-based format from next year as part of reforms following allegations of irregularities.The NEET-UG, held on May 3, was cancelled following allegations of irregularities in the examination process.NEET के 22 लाख बच्चों के साथ धोखा हुआ है। पर मोदी जी एक शब्द भी नहीं बोल रहे।धर्मेंद
Medical entrance exam NEET-UG, which was cancelled following allegations of irregularities in the examination process, will be re-conducted on June 21, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced. File
| Photo Credit: ANI
Medical entrance exam NEET-UG, which was cancelled following allegations of irregularities in the examination process, will be re-conducted on June 21, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on Friday (May 15, 2026).The exam was earlier conducted on May 3.The NTA had on Tuesday (May 12, 2026) announced the cancellation of NEET-UG and said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the alleged irregularities linked to the exam."The National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has scheduled the re-examination of NEET (UG) 2026 on Sunday, June 21, 2026," a senior official said.The announcement came after a high-level meeting was held late on Thursday (May 14, 2026) evening at the residence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to review preparations for conducting the exam afresh. Published - May 15, 2026 10:18 am IST
ABVP members and supporters stage a protest against the alleged NEET 2026 cancellation in New Delhi. File
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Experts suggest compulsory registration of all medical entrance exam coaching centres, bringing in computerised entrance exam for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG) and exempting State-government controlled undergraduate, postgraduate, and super-specialty medical seats from the single-window national to minimise and prevent malpractices in the NEET exam.Doctors’ Association for Social Equality general secretary G.R. Ravindranath, while condemning the Central Government for its negligent handling leading up to the NEET-UG exam cancellation, said that the fraud and paper leak is also an administrative failure.“Appropriate measures must be taken to ensure such irregularities do not occur in the future. Our association has sent suggestions to the Union Government, including conducting the exam by online method using computers. The recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee for conducting NEET and All India exams must be implemented. Also the long-standing demand of the people of Tamil Nadu — to exempt State government-controlled undergraduate, postgraduate, and super-specialty medical seats from NEET — must be granted. This would help to avoid the situation where lakhs of students take the exam simultaneously, and irregularities could be prevented,” he said.Regarding private NEET coaching centres collecting huge amounts from students, the Association said that Union and State governments must take steps to register all coaching centres to regulate them and fix nominal fees to ensure the safety of students.“The Union and State governments should start free coaching centres across our country with free boarding facilities for the poor students,’’ it suggested.Aditya Kelkar, director, NIO Super Specialty Hospital Pune said that every NEET aspirant who dedicated their time working hard for the paper deserves an exam process that is transparent, secure, and merit‑based. He added that credibility of national examinations must be protected at all costs.He noted that decentralisation of the NEET exam has both advantages and risks.“A centralised exam ensures uniform standards and equal opportunity across India, which is important for providing fair and equal opportunities. At the same time, decentralisation could reduce logistical challenges and allow States to manage exams more smoothly. If decentralisation is considered, we would recommend that it should operate under a strong national framework so that merit and parity of these exams are not compromised,’’ Dr. Kelkar said.He suggested minimal human handling of question papers and last‑minute printing at exam centres to be considered as a safety measure. Moreover, regular audits, strict accountability for officials, and the use of CCTV surveillance technology can further reduce the risks. “The role of technology, building a culture of responsibility and ethics among all personnel involved is essential to restore credibility,’’ he said.Rajeev Jayadevan, former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Cochin too said that the solution to prevent leaks is to digitise the exam as is already the case with numerous other high-stakes exams in India and elsewhere, so that the questions remain encrypted, becoming available only at the time of taking the test.“Multi-session testing eliminates the risk of a localised leak leading to a systemic collapse again. Within this format, psychometric normalization is a well-established fairness technique which removes the asymmetry that a more difficult paper can create. By converting raw marks into a percentile score, a student gets ranked against others who faced the exact same paper,’’ he said .He added that by mathematically neutralising the difficulty level, it ensures that regardless of whether a particular session was “easy” or “hard,” merit is determined by a st
National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) members stage a demonstration against the National Testing Agency (NTA) over alleged paper leak concerns following the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Members of the NSUI on Wednesday (May 13, 2026) protested outside Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s residence in Delhi, demanding his immediate resignation following the alleged leak of the NEET-UG 2026 paper.The protesters raised slogans and carried placards with ‘Paper Chor’, ‘Transparency, not conspiracy’, ‘Doctors’ degrees on sale’ written on them, highlighting concerns over repeated examination scams.The NEET-UG examination was conducted on May 3, following which allegations of a paper leak surfaced, triggering investigation by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG).The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday (May 12) cancelled the examination and said it would be reconducted on dates to be announced later.National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) national president Vinod Jakhar said the leak had “shattered the dreams of millions of students” and accused the Education Minister of failing in his duties.Mr. Jakhar added that the student outfit would escalate its agitation across states and districts until the Minister resigns and strict action is taken against those involved.The union alleged that national examinations had been compromised by syndicates and coaching mafia, and warned of a potential nationwide movement if the government did not act against the culprits.The NSUI also reiterated its demands, including a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the paper leak, a ban and restructuring of the NTA, strict action against implicated officials and measures to safeguard students’ mental well-being.In a statement, the NTA said the decision was taken with the approval of the central government in the interest of maintaining transparency and preserving trust in the national examination system. Published - May 14, 2026 06:54 am IST
A CBI team arrives at the Special Operations Group headquarters in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case investigation, in Jaipur, on May 12, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case to probe the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, following a reference from the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education, said the agency on Tuesday (May 12, 2026).NEET-UG 2026 paper leak: Follow LIVE updates on May 12, 2026Based on its initial findings, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has cancelled the examination that was held on May 3.The CBI has constituted special teams, which have been dispatched to various locations to follow up on leads. It has invoked provisions related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust, theft, and destruction of evidence under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examination Prevention of Unfair Means Act.The Rajasthan Special Operations Group was previously investigating the case. Preliminary inquiry indicated that a handwritten “guess” paper was circulated in Rajasthan’s Sikar a couple of days before the examination and most of its questions allegedly matched the actual paper.According to the CBI, the NTA received a complaint and inputs regarding the reported unauthorised circulation of some documents pertaining to the examination before it was conducted.“The allegations indicate a possible compromise of the sanctity and integrity of the examination process. The CBI has taken up the matter for a comprehensive investigation to ascertain the nature and extent of the alleged irregularities, as well as the involvement of individuals and entities connected therewith,” said the agency.The CBI is already investigating the NEET UG 2024 Patna question paper theft case and has so far chargesheeted at least 45 accused persons, including masterminds, middlemen, paper-solver gang members, and examination-centre linked facilitators. It took over the case from the Patna police on June 23, 2024.“Names of the candidates, who are beneficiaries of the paper theft/unfair means and names of the MBBS student who had solved the stolen paper or who had appeared in exam as impersonators have already been identified and shared with NTA/Ministry of Education,” the CBI had earlier said. Published - May 12, 2026 11:49 pm IST
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