Bilaspur, Jun 19 The Chhattisgarh High Court has allowed a 21-year-old man, currently lodged in jail in a suicide abetment case, to appear for NEET-2026 under police escort, and directed jail authorities to provide him study material.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha passed the order on June 17 while hearing a plea seeking temporary bail for Kunal Tarunakar, who wanted to appear for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled for June 21.
Advocate Anukul Biswas, his lawyer, had sought an urgent hearing on his plea on June 15.
An FIR was registered against the petitioner on May 29 for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 20-year-old woman in Shivanand Nagar area of Raipur.
The woman, who too was preparing for NEET, allegedly hanged herself on April 20. According to police, the contents of her mobile phone and her seven-page diary note indicated that the petitioner had abused her and pressurised her to meet him.
During the hearing before the HC, the government lawyer said the state had no objection to the petitioner appearing for NEET. The prosecution, however, pointed out the seriousness of the offence by stating that the petitioner had allegedly instigated the deceased to commit suicide.
The court said that it deemed it appropriate, in the interest of justice, to permit the petitioner to appear for NEET under police custody rather than granting him temporary bail.
The HC directed the Superintendent of Police, Raipur district, and the jail superintendent to make necessary arrangements.
Immediately after the completion of the examination, the petitioner shall be brought back to the jail, the HC said.
