Anti-paper leak bill sees Lok Sabha debate, passage due Wednesday

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, saw a Lok Sabha debate today after being moved by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

The bill amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and includes seven key changes meant to strengthen anti-paper-leak laws.

One of the proposed provisions would let state governments and Union Territory administrations designate any Court of Session as a Special Fast Track Court to try offences under the Act.

These courts would be required to sit daily, with trials to be completed within three months of the chargesheet being filed.

Singh described the bill as milestone legislation, pointing to the 2024 Act as the first law of its kind in independent India targeting exam fraud.

The debate stretched from the afternoon into the evening, with passage of the bill now expected on Wednesday.

The debate in the Lok Sabha took place against the backdrop of continuing protests and disruptions in Parliament over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, which had dominated much of the Monsoon Session’s proceedings in the preceding days.

The 2024 Act that the current bill seeks to amend had itself been introduced following a series of high-profile examination paper leaks that affected recruitment and entrance tests across multiple states and central agencies.

Once passed, the amended law would apply to public examinations conducted by central government agencies as well as those falling under the ambit of the original 2024 legislation, extending the reach of the fast-track court provisions nationally.

The debate follows the Union Cabinet’s approval last week of tougher paper-leak penalties, which had proposed a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore for those involved in organised examination paper leaks.

The original Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, was enacted after national outrage over the NEET-UG and UGC-NET paper leaks that year, and this amendment marks the first major revision to that law.

(Image: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs / PIB (GODL-India))