The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, was debated in the Lok Sabha today, a development with implications for businesses in the exam-preparation and education sector.
Moved by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, the bill amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, proposing seven key changes to strengthen anti-paper-leak laws.
One of the proposed provisions would empower state governments and Union Territory administrations to designate any Court of Session as a Special Fast Track Court to try offences under the Act.
Such courts would be required to hold proceedings daily, with trials completed within three months of the chargesheet being filed, a timeline businesses tracking regulatory risk in the sector may find relevant.
Singh described the bill as milestone legislation, noting the 2024 Act was the first law of its kind in independent India to address exam fraud.
The debate ran from the afternoon into the evening, with passage of the bill now expected on Wednesday.
Once passed, the amended law would apply to public examinations conducted by central government agencies as well as those falling under the ambit of the original 2024 legislation, extending the reach of the fast-track court provisions nationally.
The debate follows the Union Cabinet’s approval last week of tougher paper-leak penalties, which had proposed a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore for those involved in organised examination paper leaks.
The original Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, was enacted after national outrage over the NEET-UG and UGC-NET paper leaks that year, and this amendment marks the first major revision to that law.
The Lok Sabha’s discussion on the bill formed part of a wider day of parliamentary business during the ongoing Monsoon Session, with the Rajya Sabha separately taking up unrelated legislation on the same day.
(Image: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs / PIB (GODL-India))