- Opposition questioned bill’s efficacy, citing NEET-UG 2024.
The Centre on Tuesday introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, proposing tougher punishments, higher fines and faster investigations to crack down on paper leaks and examination malpractice. The government said the amendments are aimed at restoring public confidence in competitive examinations, while the Opposition questioned the effectiveness of the proposed changes, citing the handling of the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh said the amendments would make the existing law more stringent and ensure quicker delivery of justice in cases involving unfair means during public examinations.
Govt Proposes Harsher Punishments
Speaking in Parliament, Singh said the proposed legislation significantly increases penalties for individuals, service providers and organised crime syndicates involved in examination fraud. Singh said, “This amendment is being brought in to make the law more stringent and to ensure speedy justice so that the credibility of all these exams gets enhanced and gets reinstated…The Subsection 1 of Section 10 contained that any person or persons involved will be liable to a punishment not less than Rs 3-5 years and a fine up to Rs 10 lakhs. Under the amendment that is being brought today, the same duration of imprisonment has been made not less than 5-10 years and fine up to Rs 50 lakhs.”
The minister also said the penalties for service providers found complicit in examination malpractice would be substantially enhanced. In the 2024 Act, he said, the punishment of the service provider was fine up to Rs 1 crore but now it is being increased to Rs 5 crore.
“It was also written in the law of 2024 that the provider will be barred from conducting any exam for the next 4 years. Today, that period is being increased to 8 years under this amendment… Finally the organized crime committers where there is a mafia gang found, in that case the imprisonment earlier was 5-10 years,” he said.
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Fast-Track Courts, Two-Month Probe Deadline Proposed
Singh said the Bill also seeks to accelerate investigations and trials in examination-related offences by establishing dedicated fast-track courts. He said, “It’s been increased to 7-10 years and the fine was earlier up to Rs 1 crore. It is now proposed to be increased to Rs 10 crore. And the most important thing which the Prime Minister also mentioned through the video is to ensure speedy justice. We will have special fast track courts established only for the cases dealing with unfair means in examinations…”
“We have set a time limit in that also. The investigation has to be completed within a span of 2 months regardless of whether it is a central agency or a special task force,” he added.
According to the government, the amendments are intended to strengthen the enforcement mechanism and restore the credibility of public examinations across the country.
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Congress Questions Government’s Commitment
The Congress strongly criticised the proposed amendments, arguing that the government had failed to effectively implement the existing law enacted in 2024.
Speaking during the debate, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “It is evident that this government is not serious about the education sector and has no intention of bringing about reforms. This bill is merely a charade. A similar bill—the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act was introduced two years ago.”
Referring to the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak investigation, Gogoi questioned the government’s track record.
“Let us look at the status of the investigation into the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak; this will reveal just how serious the government is about the massive corruption that plagued the NEET exam. It is deeply distressing to note a newspaper report stating that out of the 45 individuals charge-sheeted in the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case, 44 have already been granted bail… Given the intent with which this Bill is being introduced today, it will fail again. This law stands as a monument to your failure,” he said.
The amendment Bill is expected to be debated further in Parliament before being put to a vote.
