Lok Sabha takes up anti-paper leak bill, passage expected Wednesday

The Lok Sabha took up the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, today, moved by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

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

Among the changes, state governments and Union Territory administrations would be empowered to designate any Court of Session as a Special Fast Track Court to try offences under the Act.

Such courts would be required to conduct proceedings daily, with trials completed within three months of the chargesheet being filed.

Singh called the bill milestone legislation, noting the 2024 Act was the first of its kind in independent India to address exam fraud specifically.

Debate ran from the afternoon into the evening, with the bill’s passage now expected on Wednesday.

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.

The Lok Sabha’s discussion on the bill formed part of a wider day of parliamentary business during the ongoing Monsoon Session, with the Rajya Sabha separately taking up unrelated legislation on the same day.

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