'Not A Matter For Us': Supreme Court Defers Hearing On Plea Seeking SoP For Time-Bound Probe In Exam Paper Leaks

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 21) expressed its reluctance about entertaining a public interest litigation seeking a “Standard Questionnaire and Special Investigation Procedure” to ensure time-bound investigations in cases involving question paper leaks.

A bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe orally remarked “It's not a matter for us [to consider].”

It indicated that it's already monitoring the petitions raising structural concerns with the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducting the NEET examination. On the insistence of Senior Advocate Vikas Singh(for petitioner, advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay), the Court deferred the matter to be heard after one week after it has heard the NEET petitions.

Upadhyay has filed the petition in the backdrop of the recent NEET paper leak which affected lakhs of students. He has argued that there have been continued failures on the part of the authorities to prevent, investigate and effectively prosecute those responsible for the paper leaks. This has resulted in the violation of the fundamental rights of students under Articles 14, 16, 19 and 21.

He has pointed out that there is a lack of stringent standards regarding paper leaks despite the Public Examinations(Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, in place since June 2024. The Act, he says, has many lacunas, including no time-bound investigation and trials, no standard investigation procedure and no assessment of perpetrators to determine previous liabilities for paper leaks. Additionally, the legislation doesn't apply the deception detection tests to locate the actual masterminds behind the paper leaks.

"The injury caused to the public is extremely large as the paper leaks affect the mental and physical well-being of not only the students, but also of their families. Students continue to face financial hardships, loss of educational & employment opportunities, grave psychological issues, increasing rates of suicide, along with the burden of unpaid loans."

Upadhyay has sought that provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Money Laundering Act and the Benami Property Act should be applied in such cases to determine their previous liabilities. The movable and immovable properties of the perpetrators and their family members should be confiscated in such cases. 

Case Details:  ASHWINI KUMAR UPADHYAY Vs UNION OF INDIA|W.P.(Crl.) No. 264/2026 Diary No. 40857 / 2026