NEET UG leak accused wants to prep for retest, court allows books in custody

Yadav had argued in court that he's a 20-year-old student at Uttarakhand Ayurveda University and a NEET aspirant who appeared in the now-cancelled May 3 exam.

A Delhi court has allowed an application by Yash Yadav, an accused in the NEET UG paper leak case, seeking permission to get books in judicial custody so that he can study for the retest scheduled on June 21. The court has cited Article 21 of the Constitution, which protects life and personal liberty.

“Considering the entire facts and circumstances of the instant case, the request made by the accused to study further and considering the right and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, the application is allowed,” said Special Judge Ajay Gupta of Rouse Avenue Court in the June 2 order.

Article 21 of the Constitution states, “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”

Judge Gupta, however, imposed certain conditions. “The accused shall provide a list of the books for the purpose of his further studies. The said books shall be supplied by any of his family member/ his authorized counsel to the Jail Authorities. After receipt of said books and prior to their delivery to the accused, the same shall be subject to the security check by the Jail Authorities as per Jail Manual or relevant rules in this regard and if any content/ book deemed objectionable, explicit or a security risk will be confiscated,” the court said.

“…the accused shall abide by all the rules & guidelines,as laid down in Jail Manual regarding provision of retaining books in jail… the concerned Jail Superintendent is directed to allow the accused to retain the provided books as per prevalent rules qua the same inside the jail premises subject to security check,” it added.

Yadav had argued in court that he’s a 20-year-old student at Uttarakhand Ayurveda University and a NEET aspirant who appeared in the now-cancelled May 3 exam.

Advocate Ambika, who appeared for Yadav, had argued that the accused intended to continue his studies and wished to utilise his time constructively in isolation by “reading subject books and notes for his future avenues”.

According to the CBI, which is investigating the case, Yadav allegedly received PDF files of leaked question papers through Telegram and sold them for Rs 10 lakhs. The agency claimed he was instrumental in distributing the “leaked” paper.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University. Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials. Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.  2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police. Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More

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A Delhi court has allowed an application by Yash Yadav, an accused in the NEET UG paper leak case, seeking permission to get books in judicial custody so that he can study for the retest scheduled on June 21. The court has cited Article 21 of the Constitution, which protects life and personal liberty.

“Considering the entire facts and circumstances of the instant case, the request made by the accused to study further and considering the right and liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, the application is allowed,” said Special Judge Ajay Gupta of Rouse Avenue Court in the June 2 order.

Article 21 of the Constitution states, “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.”

Judge Gupta, however, imposed certain conditions. “The accused shall provide a list of the books for the purpose of his further studies. The said books shall be supplied by any of his family member/ his authorized counsel to the Jail Authorities. After receipt of said books and prior to their delivery to the accused, the same shall be subject to the security check by the Jail Authorities as per Jail Manual or relevant rules in this regard and if any content/ book deemed objectionable, explicit or a security risk will be confiscated,” the court said.

“…the accused shall abide by all the rules & guidelines,as laid down in Jail Manual regarding provision of retaining books in jail… the concerned Jail Superintendent is directed to allow the accused to retain the provided books as per prevalent rules qua the same inside the jail premises subject to security check,” it added.

Yadav had argued in court that he’s a 20-year-old student at Uttarakhand Ayurveda University and a NEET aspirant who appeared in the now-cancelled May 3 exam.

Advocate Ambika, who appeared for Yadav, had argued that the accused intended to continue his studies and wished to utilise his time constructively in isolation by “reading subject books and notes for his future avenues”.

According to the CBI, which is investigating the case, Yadav allegedly received PDF files of leaked question papers through Telegram and sold them for Rs 10 lakhs. The agency claimed he was instrumental in distributing the “leaked” paper.