Polity · 16 Jul 2026

Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act 2024

With reference to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the NEET-UG 2026 leak case, which one of the following statements is correct?

AThe CBI's court filing alleges the leak originated from a breach of the exam's printing, transport or distribution security, rather than from an insider with legitimate access
BThe Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 criminalises the leaking of question papers and provides for penalties including imprisonment and fines
CThe leaked questions were recovered exclusively from digital servers of the National Testing Agency itself, with no involvement of any coaching centre
DThe Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 restructures who is granted access to master question sets before an examination is conducted
This question is based on: NEET-UG 2026 Leak: 111 of 132 Questions Traced to an NTA Insider, Not an Outside Breach
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About this question

Why in news

The CBI told a Delhi court that 111 of 132 handwritten NEET-UG 2026 chemistry questions found on a coaching owner's phone matched the NTA's master question set, confirming an insider leak.

Why for UPSC

UPSC has directly asked about the aims and coverage of this Act in 2024 (GS2); this question tests whether aspirants can correctly apply the Act's actual scope (punishment) versus what it does not do (prevention/access control), a distinction the article draws sharply.

Prelims summary

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 criminalises question paper leaks with up to 10 years' imprisonment and Rs 1 crore fine, but does not itself restructure pre-exam access controls to prevent insider leaks.

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