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Centre introduces anti-paper leak Bill

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 28 Jul 2026 28 Jul 2026

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha, proposing sweeping changes to strengthen the legal framework against examination paper leaks and malpractices by mandating time-bound investigations, establishing Special Fast Track Courts, significantly enhancing prison terms and monetary penalties, and creating an expedited appeals mechanism.

Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh moved the Bill in the Lok Sabha amid noisy scenes and Opposition protests over the alleged police action against students demonstrating against the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. The Bill seeks to amend the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which was enacted to deter unfair practices in public examinations across the country.

The legislation comes just three days after the Union Cabinet approved the draft amendments on Friday, as part of a broader package of measures announced by the government following the nationwide outrage over the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination due to an alleged paper leak affecting nearly 2.2 million candidates.

A key feature of the Bill is the substantial enhancement of punishments under the existing law. The proposed amendments increase the minimum imprisonment for offences under Section 10(1) from three years to five years, while raising the maximum sentence from five years to ten years. The maximum fine under the provision is proposed to be increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.

For organised examination fraud under Section 10(2), the Bill proposes to raise the maximum fine from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore, while doubling the imprisonment term from four years to eight years.

Similarly, under Section 10(3), the minimum imprisonment is proposed to be increased from three years to five years, while the maximum fine is proposed to rise from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore.

The Bill also seeks to amend Section 11 of the principal Act by increasing the imprisonment term from five years to seven years and enhancing the maximum fine from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore, reflecting the government’s intent to impose much stricter consequences on those involved in organised examination malpractices.

According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying the Bill, the amendments have been proposed in response to recent incidents of question paper leaks and examination malpractices that have undermined the transparency and credibility of the country’s public examination system.

“The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024… aims at effectively deterring persons, organised groups and institutions from indulging in unfair means thereby committing offences, adversely impacting the sanctity of public examinations,” the statement said.

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