New Delhi: The government on Monday, July 27, introduced in the Lok Sabha a bill to provide for stricter measures to check paper leaks, amid protests by opposition parties in the House against the police action during the student agitation over the NEET issue.
Soon after the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill was introduced by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House till 2 pm due to continuing protests by the Opposition. They were demanding a response from the government over the police crackdown on students during the CJP-led July 20 protest march to Parliament.
Seeking to amend a two-year-old anti-paper leak law, the bill has been introduced following the over-month-long protest by students over NEET-UG paper leak and other issues.
The bill proposes to set up fast-track courts in every state for speedy trials of accused and enhances punishment.
According to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, investigations into paper leak cases are to be completed within two months.
Students’ protest forces stricter measures
The bill amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which was enacted after paper-leak controversies around NEET and other national exams and criminalised unfair means in exams held by agencies such as the UPSC, SSC, railways, banking recruitment boards and the NTA.
Under the current law, individuals convicted of cheating will face three to five years in prison, while those involved in organised cheating rackets face five to ten years and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore.
The new amendment raises those penalties further: five to ten years for individuals and up to Rs 50 lakh in fines, and seven years to Rs 10 crore for organised crimes, while empowering states to set up fast-track sessions courts that must finish trials within three months of a chargesheet being filed, and allowing the Centre to form a special task force to investigate paper-leak cases where needed.
(With inputs from PTI)
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