Anti-paper leak amendment Bill gets green light in Lok Sabha with bigger jail terms and fines: Here are 8 things to know

The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, two years after Parliament enacted the country's first dedicated law to deal with paper leaks and examination fraud.

The amendment proposes tougher punishments, steeper financial penalties and a fast-track judicial mechanism to handle cases of unfair means in major public examinations conducted by central agencies such as the UPSC, the SSC, the railways, banking recruitment bodies and the NTA.

Also read: Rahul Gandhi's 'andhbhakt' jibe creates ruckus in Lok Sabha, Speaker orders unparliamentary words to be expunged


The 2024 law was brought in at a time when the government faced repeated paper leak controversies. Before that legislation, there was no specific substantive law to address unfair means or offences committed by entities involved in conducting public examinations for the central government and its agencies. The amendment bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet before being introduced in Parliament.

Here are eight things to know about the bill:

1. Fast-track courts: State governments and Union Territory administrations have been empowered to designate any sessions court as a special fast-track court to try offences under the law.

2. Three-month trial timeline: Proceedings in these fast-track courts will continue on a day-to-day basis, and trials must be completed within three months from the date of filing of the chargesheet.

3. Special task forces: The central government has been empowered to constitute special task forces to investigate offences under the law, in addition to existing provisions for transferring cases to central investigating agencies.

4. Two-month investigation deadline: Investigations under the law must be completed within two months, a timeline that applies to state police, central investigating agencies and any special task forces constituted for such cases.

5. Special public prosecutors: State governments and UT administrations are required to appoint special public prosecutors to handle cases under the law before fast-track courts.

6. Appeal mechanism: Appeals against any judgment, sentence or order can be filed before a bench of two judges of the high court, and must be disposed of within three months from the date of admission of the appeal.

7. Jail terms and fines for individuals: Under the new law, individuals found guilty of paper leaks or unfair means in examinations face a minimum jail term of five years and a maximum of 10 years, along with a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh. This is an increase from the earlier provision of three to five years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.

8. Stricter action on organised crime: For organised crime linked to examination fraud, the bill proposes a minimum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore, up from a minimum five-year term and a Rs 1 crore fine under the 2024 law.

The amendment also increases penalties for service providers and their senior management. Fines on service providers, currently up to Rs 1 crore, have been raised to up to Rs 5 crore, with the debarment period from conducting examinations extended from four to eight years.

Also read: Lok Sabha passes anti-paper leak Bill to tighten exam fraud penalties

Directors and senior management found complicit in examination fraud now face a minimum prison term of five years, up from three years, with the maximum term remaining at 10 years, and fines raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the bill, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh said 52 FIRs have been lodged since the anti-paper leak law came into force in 2024.