The Delhi court on Tuesday allowed NEET UG paper leak accused to attempt the re-exam scheduled on June 21 while in custody. The interim bail plea of the accused, Yash Yadav, sought to appear for the re-exam after the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 3 cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, held on May 3 for medical admissions amid allegations of paper leak.
Vacation judge Vishal Gogne hearing the case highlighted that the accuseds rights as a student cannot be defeated by turning bail into punishment by denying him the opportunity to appear for the re-examination.
“More so, when the eligibility, candidature and selection of any student in an examination is subject to appropriate orders from the competent authorities/exam conducting body. In this view, the court finds the applicant to be entitled to appear for the examination on June 21,” the judge said.
“The court is inclined to take a favourable view of the said prayer. Such a modality would protect the rights of the applicant/accused and also safeguard the interests of the investigation,” the judge added, allowing Yadav to be taken for the exam in custody.
He however, said that considering the initial stages of the investigation and the groundwork in progress, the court is not inclined to grant him interim bail. He noted Yadav’s counsel, in the alternative, said that his client could be permitted to take the exam in custody.
Yadav was arrested by CBI on May 13 and was later sent to judicial custody. So far, 13 accused have been arrested in the case, all of them currently in judicial custody.