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Informist, Monday, Jul. 27, 2026

NEW DELHI – Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh Monday introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha. The new Bill seeks to further strengthen the provisions of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 by providing for time bound investigation, speedy trial through special fast-track courts, time bound disposal of appeals and more stringent penal provisions to effectively deter unfair means and organised malpractices in public examinations.

"The proposed amendments have been brought in to reinforce the existing legal framework in view of incidents of question paper leakages and organised examination-related malpractices reported in recent years," the government said in a press release Monday. "They are aimed at ensuring greater accountability, strengthening deterrence against such offences and safeguarding the integrity of public examinations."

The Act applies to examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Boards, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, National Testing Agency, ministries and departments of the central government, and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment.

All offences under the Act are cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable, with stringent provisions relating to imprisonment, fine and attachment of property, it noted.

The Bill proposes to enhance the punishment for persons resorting to unfair means by increasing the term of imprisonment to not less than five years, extendable up to 10 years, as against the existing provision of imprisonment for a term of not less than three years, extendable up to five years. The maximum fine is also proposed to be enhanced from INR 1 million to INR 5 million.

For service providers found involved in offences under the Act, the Bill proposes to increase the maximum fine from INR 10 million to INR 50 million, and extend the period of debarment from conducting any public examination from four years to eight years.

The Bill also proposes enhanced punishment for managerial personnel of service providers by providing for imprisonment for a term of not less than five years, extendable up to 10 years, along with enhancement of the maximum fine from INR 10 million to INR 50 million.

"To deal more effectively with organised examination-related crimes, the Amendment Bill proposes to increase the minimum term of imprisonment from five years to seven years, extendable up to 10 years, while enhancing the maximum fine from INR 10 million to INR 100 million," the release said.

The Bill also empowers the central government to refer the investigation of offences under the Act to a Special Task Force constituted for this purpose.

To ensure expeditious investigation and trial, the Bill proposes insertion of a new Section 12A providing for completion of investigation within two months, designation of session courts as special fast-track courts for day-to-day trial of offences under the Act, and completion of trial within three months from the date of filing of the chargesheet.

The Bill also proposes the insertion of a new Section 12B providing that appeals against any judgment, order or sentence of the special court can be appealed in a high court within 30 days and, "as far as possible, shall be disposed of within a period of three months".

The Lok Sabha, however, could not take up the Bill for discussion Monday amid noisy protests by Opposition members, who asked for the government's accountability for a severe police crackdown and FIRs against the agitating students, in Delhi as well as in many other Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. End

Reported by Asim Khan

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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