As Modi promises fast-track courts, where do the 2024 paper leak cases stand?

At around midnight on July 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted an Instagram reel, in which he acknowledged that the problem of paper leaks was a “very painful” one for lakhs of students.

Modi said that the government had taken many steps to tackle the problem, including putting guilty individuals in jail, and swiftly conducting a retest to ensure that students did not lose a year. He also noted that the government would establish a fast-track court to hear the cases involving paper leaks. These courts, he had said earlier that day on X, would “ensure swift and stringent punishments” for those responsible for the leaks of exam papers.

The prime minister’s response has not dampened the protests that continue to rage on across the country.

In fact, his assurance of quick trials in the paper leak cases has raised questions about the progress that has been made in earlier cases, such as connected to the 2024 leak of the NEET paper.

Many were sceptical, not least because the same day, the Central Bureau of Investigation had cleared the name of a key accused in that case, Sanjeev Mukhiya, stating that it had not found evidence against him.

Politicians were quick to seize on the irony. “You’re saying you’ll make...

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