Case file · NTA · surfaced 5 May 2024

NEET-UG 2024 paper theft (Hazaribagh–Patna)

Charge sheet filed

Confidence A — core facts anchored to primary documents (court records / official notices) cited below.

Hours before NEET-UG 2024, Patna police acted on a tip-off and arrested 13 people including four examinees who had allegedly paid Rs 30–50 lakh for the paper. CBI later traced burnt question-paper scraps to a school in Hazaribagh, where the paper was photographed inside the strongroom on exam morning and circulated to solver groups. The Supreme Court found 155 identified beneficiaries but declined a nationwide re-test. Three CBI charge sheets were filed against 40 accused by October 2024; about 49 persons were arrested.

Examination: NEET-UG 2024
Conducting body: National Testing Agency (NTA)
Exam date: 5 May 2024
Leak date (as documented): 5 May 2024
Surfaced: 5 May 2024
States: Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat
Candidates affected: ~24.1 lakh
Leak vector: Strongroom / custody
Last reviewed: 11 Jun 2026

Stall clock — no docket movement for

412

days (1y 47d) · last movement 2025-04-25

The docket

Every legal action on record, in order. Each row cites its document.

5 May 2024

FIR registered · Shastri Nagar PS, Patna

Patna FIR No. 358/2024

FIR under IPC 407/408/409/120B on a whistle-blower tip-off hours before the exam.

per: Judgment, Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India & Ors. (NEET-UG 2024) (Supreme Court of India, 2 Aug 2024)
6 May 2024

Arrest · Patna Police

Patna FIR No. 358/2024

13 persons including four examinees arrested in the first days; candidates confirmed receiving the paper in advance.

per: Judgment, Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India & Ors. (NEET-UG 2024) (Supreme Court of India, 2 Aug 2024)
11 May 2024

Case transferred · Economic Offences Unit, Bihar Police

Patna FIR No. 358/2024 (transferred)

EOU took over after organised inter-state gangs were identified.

per: Judgment, Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India & Ors. (NEET-UG 2024) (Supreme Court of India, 2 Aug 2024)
23 Jun 2024

Case transferred · Central Bureau of Investigation

CBI RC, June 2024

CBI registered its own case on a Ministry of Education reference and took over the multi-state probe.

per: Judgment, Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India & Ors. (NEET-UG 2024) (Supreme Court of India, 2 Aug 2024)
23 Jul 2024

Order / direction · Supreme Court of India

W.P. (C) No. 335 of 2024

Court recorded that 155 students directly benefited but found no systemic failure; nationwide re-examination declined.

per: Judgment, Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India & Ors. (NEET-UG 2024) (Supreme Court of India, 2 Aug 2024)
1 Aug 2024

Charge sheet filed · Spl. Judge (CBI), Patna

CBI charge sheet no. 1 (13 accused)

First charge sheet against 13 accused, including the centre city-coordinator and centre superintendent, under IPC and PC Act provisions.

per: CBI press release: charge sheet filed in NEET (UG) 2024 paper leak case (Central Bureau of Investigation, 1 Aug 2024)
7 Oct 2024

Charge sheet filed · Spl. Judge (CBI), Patna

CBI charge sheet no. 3 (21 accused)

Third charge sheet against 21 accused; 5,500+ pages, 298 witnesses, 290 documents; 49 arrests in total.

per: NEET UG-2024 paper leak case: CBI files third chargesheet against 21 accused (ANI, 7 Oct 2024)
25 Apr 2025

Arrest · EOU / CBI, Patna

EOU/CBI cases, Patna

Long-absconding prime organiser of the leak network arrested; in judicial custody as of June 2025.

per: ED raids multiple states in 2023 Bihar constable recruitment scam probe (The Economic Times, 19 Jun 2025)

What candidates got

Outcome	Ordered by	Order date	Detail
Re-exam held	Supreme Court of India / NTA	13 Jun 2024 → 23 Jun 2024	Limited re-test for 1,563 grace-mark-affected candidates; nationwide re-exam declined by the Supreme Court on 23.07.2024.

Sources on file

Tier 1 · primary Judgment, Vanshika Yadav v. Union of India & Ors. (NEET-UG 2024) — Supreme Court of India · W.P. (C) No. 335 of 2024 · 2 Aug 2024
Tier 1 · primary CBI press release: charge sheet filed in NEET (UG) 2024 paper leak case — Central Bureau of Investigation · 1 Aug 2024
Tier 2 · reported NEET UG-2024 paper leak case: CBI files third chargesheet against 21 accused — ANI · 7 Oct 2024 [archived]
Tier 2 · reported ED raids multiple states in 2023 Bihar constable recruitment scam probe — The Economic Times · 19 Jun 2025 [archived]

Status log

Every status this register has ever assigned to this case. Append-only.

5 May 2024	ALLEGED	Allegations surfaced publicly.
5 May 2024	ALLEGED → FIR_REGISTERED	FIR under IPC 407/408/409/120B on a whistle-blower tip-off hours before the exam.
6 May 2024	FIR_REGISTERED → ARRESTS_MADE	13 persons including four examinees arrested in the first days; candidates confirmed receiving the paper in advance.
1 Aug 2024	ARRESTS_MADE → CHARGESHEET_FILED	First charge sheet against 13 accused, including the centre city-coordinator and centre superintendent, under IPC and PC Act provisions.

Dispute this record: every fact above cites its document. If you are named or affected and believe something is wrong, see the correction & dispute policy. Corrections are appended, never silently edited.