3 min readNew DelhiJul 25, 2026 02:30 PM IST
The Union government is likely to bring an amendment Bill in Parliament next week, increasing the punishment for individuals involved in unfair means, including leaks of question papers of public examinations, from three to five years’ imprisonment to five to 10 years, while also increasing the fine from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, The Indian Express has learnt.
The draft Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, which was approved by the Cabinet on Friday and circulated among MPs on Saturday, also increases the punishment for organised crime of unfair means in public examinations from imprisonment of at least five years to at least seven years and the fine from at least Rs 1 crore to at least Rs 10 crore.
The draft amendment Bill also provides for a ‘Special Task Force’ to investigate the cases of unfair means, with a timeline of two months for the investigation. For the trial of the cases, the Bill provides for the setting up of special fast-track courts.
The Bill was approved by the Cabinet a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement to the effect, in response to the ongoing students’ protests demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the leak of the NEET-UG paper in May.
“For the purposes of providing a speedy trial on day-to-day basis, every state government and Union Territory administration shall, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the concerned high court, by notification, designate a court of session, to be a special fast track court to try offences under this Act,” the Bill says.
It adds that the trial should be completed within three months of filing the chargesheet. Cases pending in courts would be transferred to the fast-track courts upon commencement of the Act, it says.
Bid to enhance credibility of public exam system
In the statement of objects and reasons, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh wrote that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 was enacted to prevent people from resorting to unfair means in public exams.
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“The said Act, being a pan-Indian legislation, aims at effectively deterring persons, organised groups and institutions from indulging in unfair means thereby committing offences, adversely impacting the sanctity of public examinations…In recent years, there have been some incidents of question paper leakages and malpractices in examinations conducted by public examination authorities, which tend to affect the transparency and fairness of the public examinations system. Hence, in order to further strengthen the fairness, to enhance the credibility of the public examinations system and to facilitate speedy trial and ensure time bound investigations of offences under the said Act, it is necessary to make amendments in the said Act,” he wrote.
The Act covers all examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, the Staff Selection Commission, the Railway Recruitment Board, the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection and the National Testing Agency, which conducts the NEET exam.