Anti-paper leak Bill proposes tougher action against exam centres, agencies & institutions

New Delhi: The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, proposes significantly tighter penalties for examination authorities, service providers and institutions involved in paper leaks and organised examination fraud, has been circulated for introduction in Parliament on Monday, as the Centre moves to strengthen the country's anti-paper leak law amid the nationwide agitation over the alleged NEET paper leak.

The Bill was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Friday, less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced through an Instagram message, targeted at young aspirants, that the government would bring tougher legal measures against paper leaks.

The legislative push comes even as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests continue over the alleged NEET paper leak, with the issue emerging as one of the biggest political flashpoints of the Monsoon Session.

The amendments seek to strengthen the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which was enacted to curb the use of unfair means in recruitment and other public examinations.

According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the changes have been proposed following recent incidents of question paper leaks and examination malpractice that have affected the transparency, fairness and credibility of public examinations.

A major focus of the amendment is on entities associated with the conduct of examinations.

Service providers engaged by examination authorities would face fines of up to ₹5 crore, against the current ₹1 crore, while the period for which they can be barred from participating in public examinations would increase from four years to eight years.

If directors or senior management are found to have consented to or connived in the offence, they would face a minimum five-year prison term, instead of three years under the existing law, along with a ₹5 crore fine.

The Bill also proposes substantially higher penalties for organised examination fraud. Examination authorities, service providers or other institutions found guilty of organised crime would face a minimum jail term of seven years, up from five years at present, while the minimum fine would increase ten-fold from ₹1 crore to ₹10 crore.

For individuals resorting to unfair means, the proposed punishment has been enhanced from three-five years to five-ten years' imprisonment, while the maximum fine has been increased from ₹10 lakh to ₹50 lakh.

Apart from enhancing punishments, the Bill introduces a dedicated enforcement framework. It mandates that investigations be completed within two months, whether by the police, a Central Investigating Agency or a Special Task Force (STF) that the Centre may constitute for specific cases.

It also requires every State and Union Territory to designate Special Fast Track Courts, which would conduct day-to-day hearings and endeavour to complete trials within three months of the filing of the chargesheet. Pending cases under the Act would also be transferred to these courts.

The proposed amendments further require States and UTs to appoint Special Public Prosecutors for such courts and establish a dedicated appellate mechanism under which appeals against orders of the Special Fast Track Courts, including bail orders, would lie before a Division Bench of the High Court, with the legislation envisaging disposal within three months, as far as possible.

The 2024 law was enacted to deter organised paper leak rackets and preserve the integrity of public examinations. The latest amendments seek to make that framework more punitive while introducing statutory timelines for investigation and trial, signalling the government's attempt to respond both to recurring examination scandals and the political pressure generated by the ongoing protests.