The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by 25-year-old Dhananjay Nivrutti Lokhande, an accused in the alleged NEET-UG paper leak case, challenging his arrest and seeking immediate release.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja described the petition as an abuse of the legal process and “absolutely meritless”. The court also imposed a cost of ₹25,000 on Lokhande, directing that the amount be deposited with the Advocates Welfare Fund.
Lokhande was arrested on May 13 in connection with alleged irregularities surrounding the NEET-UG examination. He approached the high court after a trial court rejected his request for a copy of his arrest memo on August 22.
His lawyers argued that the arrest was illegal because he had not been provided with the arrest memo. They claimed that the chargesheet contained only a two-page personal search memo and did not properly record key details concerning the arrest.
The petition also alleged that there was no clear record of the grounds or reasons for his arrest, the date, time and place of arrest, or communication of his rights. It further raised questions over certain details recorded in the personal search memo.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), however, opposed the plea. Special Public Prosecutor Premtosh Kumar Mishra told the court that the grounds of arrest had been communicated to Lokhande after his arrest and that the information had also been conveyed to him over the telephone.
The high court accepted the CBI's position and rejected Lokhande's challenge.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, which had triggered widespread concern among students and parents. The examination conducted on May 3 was cancelled by the National Testing Agency following the alleged paper leak, and a re-examination was subsequently ordered.
Earlier this month, the CBI filed a chargesheet against all 13 accused arrested in the case. According to the agency, its investigation traced the alleged leak from paper setters to beneficiary candidates and uncovered a wider conspiracy.
Three paper setters appointed by the NTA have also been named as accused. The CBI has invoked charges relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and destruction of evidence, along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
The agency has relied on hundreds of witnesses and documents in support of its case. All 13 accused named in the chargesheet remain in judicial custody, while further investigation is continuing.
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