LS passes anti-paper leak Bill
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 by voice vote, in a major step towards a law that will steeply raise penalties for exam paper leaks in the wake of the NEET-UG controversy that forced Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as education minister last week.
The bill now goes to the Rajya Sabha, as it will need to clear the Upper House before going to President Droupadi Murmu for assent. This will amend the original 2024 law.
Piloting the bill, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh said the amendment showed the government was open to “learning from experience”. Education minister Pralhad Joshi later posted on X that the bill would be “ushering in a tougher legal framework to combat examination malpractices”. PM Narendra Modi had originally announced the amendment bill as major step towards exam reforms, but it failed to assuage the Cockroach Janta Party and the Congress as they separately pressed for the minister’s resignation that came day after that.
The debate on the bill turned heated on Tuesday, when parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju objected to remarks by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi targeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah over police action at the Cockroach Janta Party march in Delhi on July 20.
This prompted LS speaker Om Birla to ask Gandhi to confine himself to the bill; the House was adjourned multiple times over the exchange. The bill was eventually through by voice vote.
The amendments strengthen the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act of 2024, which had already made every offence under it cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, while keeping candidates themselves outside its scope. The basics do not change. Timelines and punishments become stricter. For individuals convicted of using unfair means, the minimum jail term rises from three to five years, the maximum from five to 10 years, and the fine ceiling from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
Service providers hired to conduct exams face a fine of up to Rs 5 crore, against Rs 1 crore earlier, along with an eight-year debarment from examination work, up from four years, if they are found guilty.