Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has designated two courts to try exam-malpractice cases and nothing else. One of them sits in Jammu.
What exactly was announced?
A notification from the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs names the Court of the 1st Additional District and Sessions Judge, Jammu, and the equivalent court in Srinagar as Special Fast-Track Courts. The Lieutenant Governor acted in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, Northlines reports. The courts will "exclusively try offences" such as paper leaks, cheating and malpractices by exam-conducting agencies under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.
How fast is "fast-track"?
Trials are to run day to day until every witness has been examined, and are to be completed within three months of the chargesheet being filed, according to the same report. That is the timeline the Act sets for these courts; the report does not describe any penalties, and we have not seen the notification text itself.
Why a Jammu candidate should care
- Recruitment tests for JKSSB and JKPSC posts, and board and university exams, fall within the kind of offences the Act covers.
- Cases will be heard in Jammu rather than queueing behind general sessions work, which matters for any Jammu-division matter.
- Agencies that run exams, not only individual cheats, are named in the notification's language.
What it does not change
A designated court does not stop a leak; it shortens the wait for a verdict after one. Aspirants should keep applying through official portals only and treat any offer of "guaranteed paper" as the offence this court now exists to try. No public statement from the exam bodies on the notification was reported alongside the order.
Sources: Northlines, 24 October 2026. Related: JKSSB's written exam calendar.
