Centre Approves Draft Bill for Stricter Action Against Paper Leaks; 2024 Law Already Prescribed Tough Penalties

PTI, July 24, 2026, New Delhi : The Union Cabinet on Friday approved a draft Bill to ensure stricter punishments for paper leaks, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement.

The Centre had brought out a new law in 2024 as well when it was faced with raging paper leak controversies.

Nearly four months after President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, the Act was notified in June 2024 when concerns were high due to the alleged NEET and NET paper leaks.

Before this legislation, there was no specific substantive law to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed by various entities involved in the conduct of public examinations by the Central Government and its agencies.

The Act aims to prevent unfair means in public examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railways, banking recruitment examinations, and the National Testing Agency (NTA), among others.

The earlier law had provisions for a minimum of three to five years' imprisonment to curb cheating, while those involved in organised examination-related offences could face five to 10 years' imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore.

The Act also included provisions for the engagement of services of other government agencies by public examination authorities, preparation of norms, standards and guidelines, and reporting of incidents involving unfair means or offences.

Pre-examination activities such as pre-audit for examination readiness of public examination centres, candidate check-in, biometric registration, security and screening, seat allocation, question paper setting and loading, invigilation, post-examination activities, and guidelines for providing scribes were also included in the prescribed norms.

The Act outlines 15 illegal acts, including leaking question papers, tampering with OMR sheets, creating fake websites, and issuing fake admit cards.

Paper leaks are again at the centre of controversy, with student-led protests over the NEET-UG examination snowballing into a nationwide agitation, driven by paper leaks, alleged police action against demonstrators, and ongoing demands for accountability.

Opposition parties have joined the chorus and are demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, besides seeking a debate in Parliament on the issue.

In a late-night video message for protesting students on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi announced that a Bill containing provisions for strong action against paper leaks will be introduced in Parliament next week.