Patna HC Grants Bail to Accused in NEET Question Paper Leak Case, Name Absent from FIR

Justice Ashok Kumar Pandey granted bail to Ashwani Kumar, accused in the NEET question paper leak case, noting his name appeared only in a co-accused's confessional statement and that similarly placed co-accused had already been bailed out.

The High Court of Judicature at Patna, on 13 July 2026, granted bail to Ashwani Kumar, also known as Babloo or Babloo Bhumihar, a resident of Makanpur in Nawada district, who had been in judicial custody since 11 September 2025 in connection with the NEET question paper leak case registered at Patrakar Nagar Police Station, Patna. Justice Ashok Kumar Pandey, sitting singly, ordered his release on a bail bond of Rs. 10,000 with two sureties of the like amount, upon being satisfied that the petitioner's name did not appear in the FIR and that the only material against him was the confessional statement of a co-accused.

The Prosecution Case and the Van Interception

The case arises from Patrakar Nagar P.S. Case No. 224 of 2017. According to the prosecution's account, police acting on suspicion intercepted a van in which four persons were found. A search of the vehicle yielded documents, cell phones, equipment, and other devices. The occupants of the van are alleged to have disclosed that, at the direction of a mastermind behind the NEET question paper leak scam, they had come to collect question papers from a bank and forward them to respective examination centres.

The offences charged against Ashwani Kumar are under Sections 406, 420, 414, 467, 468, 471, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Section 66(c) of the Information Technology Act.

Petitioner's Name Absent from FIR; Evidence Rests Solely on Co-Accused's Statement

Counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Rabindra Prasad Singh, argued that Ashwani Kumar was falsely implicated and had committed no offence. His central submission was that the petitioner's name does not appear anywhere in the FIR itself. The trial court's records, he pointed out, show that the petitioner's name surfaced only during the course of investigation, through the confessional statement of co-accused Shashi Kumar, also known as Kundan Kumar.

Mr. Singh pressed the point that “save and except the confessional statement of co-accused, there is nothing against the petitioner.” He also placed before the court that two similarly situated co-accused — Sanjay Yadav and Avinash Chandra Dubey — had already been granted bail by co-ordinate benches of the Patna High Court in Criminal Miscellaneous Nos. 38868 of 2017 and 33893 of 2017 respectively. The petitioner had been in judicial custody since 11 September 2025 at the time of the hearing.

The State, represented by Mrs. Rina Sinha, Additional Public Prosecutor, opposed the bail application and brought to the court's attention that the petitioner has criminal antecedents in two cases.

Court's Reasoning

Justice Pandey, having heard both sides and considering the overall facts and circumstances, held that the case warranted enlarging the petitioner on bail. The order does not set out an extended analysis, but the cumulative picture — absence of the petitioner's name from the FIR, reliance by the prosecution solely on a co-accused's confessional statement, the period already spent in custody, and bail having been granted to co-accused persons facing the same allegations — weighed in the petitioner's favour.

The court did not elaborate on the weight, if any, to be given to the criminal antecedents flagged by the State, but proceeded to enlarge the petitioner on terms.

Order

Justice Ashok Kumar Pandey directed that Ashwani Kumar @ Babloo @ Babloo Bhumihar be enlarged on bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 10,000 (Rupees ten thousand only) with two sureties of the like amount each, to the satisfaction of the learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-IX-cum-Sub-Judge, Patna, in connection with Patrakar Nagar P.S. Case No. 224 of 2017. The order was passed on 13 July 2026 in Criminal Miscellaneous No. 46404 of 2026.