New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- The public exams are an important means of fostering equity of opportunity in India. In a year, there are numerous students who compete to get into educational institutions and Government jobs and believe that hard work and commitment are the keys to success. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct fair, transparent and foolproof examinations the first time, every time, thereby instilling trust in the examination system. In this context, it is important to establish a strong legal framework to prevent and deter malpractices and fraudulent activities that may affect the credibility of the examination system. Hence, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, is an opportune and needed amendment to India's examination system to guarantee the integrity of the examination process.
Legislation plays a crucial role in deterring malpractices related to examinations. The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Copying Act, 1992, introduced a revolutionary change in the examination system by providing very strict legal and administrative provisions to prevent large-scale cheating among students in school examinations. This law was later repealed; however, it proved to be a strong deterrent against examination malpractice. The Chinese National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) is strictly monitored, and cheating is penalised through the use of biometric verification, AI-powered surveillance and administrative measures. With over thirteen million candidates examined annually, it maintains high levels of public trust and confidence through fast identification of and action against candidates who cheat on the exam.
In India, the Public Examinations Act, 2024, had a detailed legal framework, providing a definition of organised examination fraud as a cognisable and non-bailable offence, with stringent punishment. The main drawback, however, was the lack of statutory court timelines for investigations and trials. There were delays in investigations and long delays in the courts, so the law had only a limited deterrent effect and offenders were not held to account in a timely fashion. The 2026 Amendment has overcome this problem by adding a provision for time-bound investigation and fast-track trial in the Special Fast Track Courts. This reform focuses on an important principle of criminal justice: deterrence is as much about the certainty and timeliness of punishment as it is about its severity.
A central aspect of the 2026 Act is that it targets the nature of the offence, not the method of its occurrence. This is especially crucial in the context of India's examination landscape undergoing a rapid shift from paper-based examinations to technology-enabled digital examinations. The growing digitalisation of public exams is a reminder of the importance of having secure, reliable and robust online examination systems. Notably, of the eight major examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), all except NEET (UG) are already conducted as Computer-Based Tests (CBTs), including JEE (Main), CUET and UGC-NET.
Digital exams can help reduce the risks associated with the printing, shipping and storage of paper exams, but introduce a new set of security risks, including cybersecurity, identity theft and data protection. In 2024, the K. Radhakrishnan Committee made a series of recommendations for reliable and secure examinations, such as introducing comprehensive Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) throughout the testing process, increasing the adoption of Aadhaar-based or biometric authentication and encrypted transmission of question papers, and introducing transparent and well-defined score normalisation processes.
Technology, however, is not enough to ensure the integrity of public examinations. Examination fraud is now becoming more organised, complex and technologically advanced, and a robust legal framework is therefore also vital to penalise those committing fraud. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, strengthens the penal regime introduced in the 2024 version of the Act. For instance, the punishment for individual offenders has been increased from 3-5 years' imprisonment and fines of up to '10 lakh to 5-10 years' imprisonment and fines of up to '50 lakh.
As mentioned in Ramcharitmanas, - no respect for fair practice without fear of punishment. This enduring principle is still applicable today. The credibility of public exams depends not only on well-designed legislation but also on the expectation that any violations will be quickly identified, examined and punished. Every such occurrence in relation to examinations compromises the trust of millions of honest students who must rely on merit for their future. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, provides a comprehensive mechanism to ensure transparency and credibility in the Indian examination system through timely justice, stringent punishments, institutional accountability and cutting-edge technology.
Views expressed are personal. The writer is the Director at IIM Mumbai
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.