Delhi court defers NEET UG accused's interim bail plea

A Delhi court has deferred the hearing on the interim bail plea filed by Yash Yadav, an accused in the NEET UG paper leak case, observing that the request is premature as he has not yet been issued an admit card for the NEET UG examination scheduled on June 21. The Rouse Avenue Court was hearing Yadav's plea seeking interim bail to appear in the examination. The court said it would take up the matter again on June 16. Earlier, Special Judge (CBI) Ajay Gupta had sought a response from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Yadav's application seeking 15 days of interim bail. Apart from appearing in the NEET UG examination, Yadav had also sought bail to attend his sister's wedding. During the proceedings, the court noted that Yadav had not been issued an admit card for the examination. The judge had also asked the defence whether it had confirmed with the National Testing Agency (NTA) that Yadav would be allowed to appear for the exam despite being an accused in the case. The matter comes after the court on June 2 allowed Yadav's request to keep books for NEET UG preparation while in custody. His lawyers had told the court that he needed study material because the examination was scheduled for June 21. According to the case details, an FIR was registered on May 12 based on a complaint filed by a government official. The case involves charges under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Corruption Act and laws related to the use of unfair means in examinations. The investigation alleges that Mangilal Biwal contacted Shubham Khairnar to obtain a question paper for his son, Vikas Biwal. The CBI claims this led to a larger network involving several accused persons. Investigators have alleged that Shubham Khairnar first leaked the paper to Yash Yadav. The paper was then allegedly passed on to Mangilal Biwal, who later provided it to Vikas Biwal and then to Dinesh Biwal. The CBI has further alleged that Mangilal Biwal received the leaked paper from Yash Yadav for Rs 10 lakh. During questioning, Vikas Biwal reportedly told investigators that he came into contact with Yash Yadav while attending coaching classes in Sikar. According to the agency, Mangilal Biwal allegedly shared the leaked question paper with several candidates and charged around Rs 12 lakh for it. The CBI has arrested several people in connection with the case, including Shubham Khairnar, Manisha Waghmare, Prahalad Kulkarni, Manisha Mandhare, Manisha Sanjay Hawaldar, Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, Dr Manoj Shirure and Tejas Harshad Kumar Shah. All of them are currently in judicial custody following CBI interrogation.