A detailed order of fast-track judge Ajay Gupta of Rouse Avenue Courts was awaited.
A Delhi court on Monday dismissed a plea by three National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG) 2026 paper leak case accused seeking to voluntarily undergo a lie detector and brain mapping examination to “assist” the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
What Happened
The court granted anticipatory bail to seven other students Uttkarsh Khuntia, Yash Kaundilya, Avantika, Ishpreet Kaur, Nikita Monica D’Souza, Hardika Bhagat and Satyam Yadav. The court separately deferred an order on the cognisance of the 20,000-page chargesheet filed in the matter for Wednesday after orally noting that the documents were voluminous and bulky and required further examination.
“What does this tell you about: 1) Government’s level of intolerance; 2) The police; 3) State of the judiciary?” the Independent Rajya Sabha MP said. The act, coupled with the material found with them, “certainly raises doubt about their conduct”, the judge remarked in separate orders denying relief to the two former TISS students.
Investigation and Response
New Delhi, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Monday said it was a shame that two ex-TISS students were denied anticipatory bail by a court and claimed that it showed the government’s intolerance as well as the state of the judiciary. A court in Mumbai on Friday denied anticipatory bail to two former students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences who are facing criminal cases for holding an unauthorised campus gathering to pay homage to former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, and raising slogans seeking release of undertrial prisoners Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The CBI opposed the plea moved by three accused, stating they had no right to dictate how the agency’s investigation should be conducted. A narcoanalysis test is a forensic interrogation technique. A suspect is injected with a psychoactive drug to lower their inhibitions and suppress their reasoning ability to extract information that they might otherwise withhold. The Supreme Court has held that a narco-analysis test cannot be conducted on an accused person without their consent, and the results of such tests cannot form the sole basis of conviction in a criminal case. Additional Sessions Judge V B Bohra granted pre-arrest bail to seven other students.
Senior public prosecutor VK Pathak told the fast-track court it is the prerogative of the CBI to request such a procedure. He argued that the agency has collected “incriminating evidence” against all accused persons and nothing remained to be investigated through a lie detector or a brain-mapping examination. The court on August 4 sought the CBI’s response on the plea for voluntarily seeking to undergo the tests without “any coercion to demonstrate their bona fides and assist the investigating agency in conducting a fair and transparent investigation”. The plea, filed through advocate AP Singh, said the applicants have consistently maintained their innocence from the inception of the investigation and continue to assert that they have neither committed nor participated in the offences alleged against them. Their custodial interrogation was not required as they had cooperated with the investigation, the court said.
