New Delhi, July 29: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, introducing stricter penalties and new enforcement measures aimed at tackling examination malpractice following the NEET UG 2026 paper leak controversy.
The Bill increases the maximum penalty for organised examination fraud from ₹1 crore under the 2024 law to ₹10 crore. It also extends the debarment period for service providers involved in unfair practices from four years to eight years and authorises the Central Government to establish a special task force to investigate offences.
The legislation requires investigations to be completed within two months and trials within three months after filing of the charge sheet. It also provides for the designation of Special Fast Track Courts in every State and Union Territory for speedy disposal of cases.
However, legislative analyses have noted implementation challenges. According to PRS Legislative Research, the Bill does not specify consequences if investigation timelines are not met. It also notes that the Supreme Court has previously observed that criminal proceedings should not be terminated solely because prescribed timelines are exceeded.
Existing Fast Track Special Courts continue to face significant case backlogs. As of April 2026, 775 Fast Track Special Courts, including 398 exclusive POCSO courts, were operational with more than two lakh pending cases. Data presented in the Rajya Sabha indicated that pending cases increased from over 2.02 lakh in 2023 to 2.45 lakh in 2025.
The analysis also highlighted that more than 40% of investigations under similar laws remained pending for over six months in 2024 despite statutory timelines. Delays have been attributed to factors including shortage of courts and staff, non-appearance of accused or witnesses, repeated adjournments, and case management challenges.
The Amendment Bill follows the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, enacted after earlier examination leak controversies. According to the analysis, no convictions have been secured under the 2024 Act so far.
The government has stated that the Amendment Bill aims to strengthen the legal framework against organised examination fraud and improve the integrity of public examinations.
