The Delhi High Court has rejected a plea from Dhananjay Nivrutti Lokhande, accused in the NEET-UG paper leak case, challenging his arrest and requesting immediate release due to not having been provided with a copy of his arrest memo. The court, comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja, imposed a penalty of ₹25,000 on Lokhande, labeling the petition as “absolutely meritless” and an abuse of the legal process.
The court instructed that the penalty be deposited into the Advocates Welfare Fund. In its ruling, the court stated, “We find the present petition to be an abuse of the process of law. This is absolutely meritless. Accordingly, we dismiss the same with a cost of ₹25,000.”
Lokhande was detained on May 13, 2023, due to his alleged involvement in irregularities during the NEET-UG examination. After a trial court denied his request for a copy of the arrest memo on August 22, he escalated the matter to the High Court. Lokhande contended that his arrest was unlawful without the arrest memo, pointing out that the only arrest-related document in the chargesheet was a two-page personal search memo dated May 13.
The petition further claimed the absence of records detailing the grounds or reasons for his arrest, specifics about the date, time, and place of arrest, or evidence that the arrest grounds were communicated to him. Representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Special Public Prosecutor Premtosh Kumar Mishra argued that Lokhande was informed of the arrest grounds after his detention, with the information also being conveyed telephonically.
The NEET-UG exam, initially conducted on May 3, was annulled by the National Testing Agency following accusations of a paper leak, causing significant unrest and uncertainty among candidates. A re-examination was consequently scheduled for June 21. The CBI has filed a chargesheet against 13 individuals, alleging that their investigation exposed a conspiracy extending from those setting the exam papers to candidates benefiting from the leaks.
