Centre appoints Naresh Pal Gangwar as Higher Education Secretary amid NEET paper leak row; fast-track court set up

The Centre has appointed senior IAS officer Naresh Pal Gangwar as Secretary of the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education in a late-night bureaucratic reshuffle approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

According to an official notification issued on Thursday night, Gangwar replaces Vineet Joshi, who has been transferred as Secretary in the Department of Panchayati Raj.

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The change comes as the government faces sustained criticism over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, with student groups continuing to demand accountability, education reforms and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Separately, a special fast-track court has been established at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court to hear cases registered under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, along with related offences.

The Delhi High Court has transferred judicial officer Anu Grover Baliga, who was serving as Judge-in-Charge of the Mediation Centre at Tis Hazari Court, to Rouse Avenue Court as the Special Judge for the newly designated fast-track court.

In an order issued by Registrar General Arun Bhardwaj, the High Court said the judicial officer would function under the administrative control of the Principal District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (PC Act) (CBI), Rouse Avenue Courts Complex.

The court also directed that all pending cases under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and connected offences be transferred to the newly created fast-track court.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government had decided to establish fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leak cases.

Meanwhile, protests over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak have continued at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for nearly a month, with students pressing for action against those responsible and broader reforms in the examination system.