Opposition, government clash as Rajya Sabha clears anti-paper leak Bill
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 was passed by the Rajya Sabha by voice vote on 30 July 2026, a day after the Lok Sabha passed it, completing its clearance by both Houses of Parliament.
The Bill amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 to sharply raise custodial and monetary penalties for individuals, organised examination-fraud networks, and private examination service providers found guilty of unfair means in public examinations.
The debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Bill's provisions was followed by its passage; the Bill now proceeds to the President for assent, the final step before it takes legal effect.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh piloted the Bill's discussion in the Rajya Sabha.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 — the law being amended
The 2024 Act was India's first dedicated central law criminalising malpractice in public examinations, enacted after a series of question-paper leaks disrupted major recruitment and entrance exams. It applies to examinations conducted by central bodies such as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards, banking recruitment bodies, and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts exams like JEE Main and NEET-UG.
Key Details
- "Unfair means" under the Act covers leakage of question papers or answer keys, impersonation, tampering with computer systems or merit lists, running fake examinations, and issuing fake admit cards or appointment letters for financial gain, along with conspiracy to facilitate any of these.
- Original penalty structure: general offences carried 3-5 years' imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh; "organised crime" (offences committed to further a shared interest for wrongful gain) carried 5-10 years' imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore, with the offending institution's property liable to attachment; examination service providers faced fines up to Rs 1 crore and debarment from conducting public exams for up to 4 years.
- All offences under the Act are cognisable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable.
The 2026 Amendment Bill leaves the Act's definitions of unfair means and its institutional coverage unchanged — it operates entirely on the 2024 Act's penalty and enforcement architecture.
2026 Amendment — steeper penalties and fast-track courts
The amendment substantially raises penalties across every category of offender under the 2024 Act and introduces a dedicated fast-track judicial mechanism, reflecting a policy shift toward stronger deterrence and faster prosecution of exam-fraud cases.
Key Details
- Individual offenders: minimum imprisonment raised from 3 to 5 years (maximum extendable to 10 years), and the maximum fine raised from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
- Organised examination fraud: minimum imprisonment raised from 5 to 7 years, and the minimum fine raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore.
- Examination service providers: maximum fine raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore, and debarment from conducting public examinations extended from 4 to 8 years.
- Every state government and Union Territory administration must set up Special Fast Track Courts for day-to-day trial of these offences; investigations must be completed within two months, and trials within three months of chargesheet filing, with appeals lying before a two-judge High Court bench.
These penalty and enforcement changes are the substantive content of the Bill cleared by the Rajya Sabha, following the Lok Sabha's passage the previous day.
Ordinary Bill passage and voting in Parliament
An ordinary Bill such as this one must be passed by a simple majority of members present and voting in both Houses before being presented to the President under Article 111. Article 100 governs voting and quorum in Parliament: questions are decided by a majority of members present and voting (excluding the Speaker or Chairman, who votes only to break a tie), and the quorum for a sitting is one-tenth of the total membership of the House.
Key Details
- A "voice vote" is one method of ascertaining the sense of the House on a question: the presiding officer puts the question and judges the outcome by the volume of "Ayes" and "Noes" called out, without a formal, member-by-member count; it is distinct from a "division," where votes are recorded individually (electronically or otherwise) at a member's request.
- Ordinary Bills (unlike Money Bills, which must originate only in the Lok Sabha under Article 109) may originate in either House under Article 107, and require concurrence of both Houses in identical form.
- Passage by voice vote is common for government business where no member presses for a recorded division.
The Bill's passage in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote, following the Lok Sabha's approval a day earlier, completed the two-House requirement under Article 107 before the Bill's presentation to the President.
- Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026: passed by the Lok Sabha on 29 July 2026 and by the Rajya Sabha on 30 July 2026, both by voice vote.
- Amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 — India's first dedicated central law against exam malpractice.
- Individual offenders: 5-10 years' imprisonment (up from 3-5 years); fine up to Rs 50 lakh (up from Rs 10 lakh).
- Organised exam fraud: minimum 7 years' imprisonment (up from 5); minimum fine Rs 10 crore (up from Rs 1 crore).
- Service providers: fine up to Rs 5 crore (up from Rs 1 crore); debarment up to 8 years (up from 4 years).
- Investigation deadline: 2 months; trial completion: 3 months from chargesheet filing.
- Next step: Presidential assent under Article 111.