As many as 158 cases linked to alleged recruitment and examination irregularities are awaiting the start of trial in courts across the country despite investigations having been completed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), with some cases dating back more than two decades, sources said.
The CBI has decided to approach high courts across the country to seek the transfer of these pending cases to Special Fast-Track Courts being set up under the recently enacted anti-paper leak law, known as the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, the sources said.
The agency will inform the high courts that it will provide dedicated special public prosecutors to conduct the trials and make all necessary resources available to ensure they are concluded as quickly as possible, they added.
According to the sources, Delhi accounts for around 25 cases pending trial despite CBI investigations having been completed.
These include alleged irregularities in the AIIMS PG recruitment examination of 2010-11, the Delhi University Medical and Dental Entrance examination of 2011, the Common Admission Test (CAT) of 2004, the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) recruitment examination of 2013 and teachers' recruitment, the sources said.
Bihar has five pending cases, including three linked to the alleged NEET 2024 paper leak, besides cases relating to alleged irregularities in the Pre-Medical Test (PMT) in 2003 and 2011.
Three cases are awaiting trial in Himachal Pradesh, including the 2022 police constable recruitment case. Jammu and Kashmir also has three pending cases involving alleged irregularities in junior engineer and constable recruitment.
Five cases are awaiting trial in Jharkhand, five in Karnataka, three in Maharashtra — including two linked to NEET 2024 — eight in Rajasthan, 14 in Tamil Nadu, and 10 each in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Government officials said prolonged delays in bringing cases to trial could undermine successful prosecution. They said that as time passes, witnesses become elderly or unavailable, memories fade, identifying the accused becomes more difficult and testimonies often change.
Frequent transfers of investigating officers, prosecutors and presiding judges further complicate proceedings, increasing the risk that some examination fraud prosecutions could eventually collapse, officials said.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, passed by Parliament last week, requires every state and Union Territory, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the respective high court, to designate a Sessions Court as a Special Fast-Track Court.
Under the law, these courts are required to conduct day-to-day hearings without unnecessary adjournments, complete trials within three months of the filing of the charge sheet, and dispose of cases transferred from other courts within three months of such transfer.
Each state and Union Territory will also appoint special public prosecutors dedicated to handling these cases.
"If an accused also faces other connected charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita or any other law, the Special Fast-Track Court will try those charges together in the same trial, instead of sending the case to multiple courts," a recent government statement had said.
(With inputs from PTI)