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- Cabinet approval only clears the draft for introduction in Parliament. It must be passed by both Houses and receive the President’s assent before the amended provisions become enforceable.
- Reports indicate that the proposed amendments may provide punishment of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines reaching ₹10 crore, depending on the offence and category of offender. The minimum imprisonment may also be increased from three years to five years. The final provisions will be confirmed when the Bill is formally tabled in Parliament.
- The Bill proposes establishing special fast-track courts for paper-leak and examination-fraud cases. Their purpose is to complete trials quickly and ensure that offenders do not escape punishment because of lengthy judicial proceedings.
- The existing 2024 Act already prescribes three to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to ₹10 lakh for persons involved in unfair means. Examination service providers can face a fine of up to ₹1 crore, recovery of examination costs and a four-year ban from conducting public examinations.
- The law covers major central recruitment and entrance examinations conducted by bodies such as UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Boards, banking recruitment agencies and the National Testing Agency, including examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET.
- Prohibited activities include leaking or possessing confidential question papers, providing answers during examinations, manipulating computer systems, using fake examination centres, impersonation, tampering with answer sheets and assisting organised cheating networks.
- The main targets are paper-leak gangs, organised groups, examination officials, service providers and institutions that knowingly facilitate examination fraud. Candidates involved in ordinary cheating may also face action under the examination authority’s disciplinary rules and other applicable laws.
- The immediate background is the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, for which the CBI registered a case on 12 May 2026 under the 2024 Act and other criminal laws. The controversy led to nationwide student protests and renewed demands for stronger examination safeguards.
- The proposed amendments form part of a wider examination-reform programme that includes fast-track trials, stricter oversight of testing agencies and stronger accountability for officials and private service providers involved in conducting examinations.
- The main purpose is to protect students’ careers, preserve the credibility of competitive examinations, prevent organised cheating and ensure that recruitment and admissions take place fairly on the basis of merit.
Question:
Q1.The proposed amendment to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 may provide a maximum punishment of:
a) Five years’ imprisonment and a ₹1 crore fine
b) Seven years’ imprisonment and a ₹5 crore fine
c) Ten years’ imprisonment and a ₹10 crore fine
d) Life imprisonment and a ₹20 crore fine
Answer: c) On 24 July 2026, the Union Cabinet approved a draft Bill proposing stricter punishment for question-paper leaks and organised examination fraud. Reports indicate that serious offences may attract imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines of up to ₹10 crore.
