After days of disruption, Parliament resumed business on Tuesday as the Lok Sabha started a fiery debate on a new bill that aims for stricter punishment and time-bound trials for people accused of exam paper leaks. The ruling dispensation hailed the bill as a milestone and a transformative legislation while the Opposition slammed the government over violence against students and paper leaks.
Introducing the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Union minister of state Jitendra Singh called it “the first of its kind in the history of independent India”.
“The earlier bill and the amendment today are, in a way, reaffirmation of this government’s deep commitment to safeguard the welfare of the students and the youth of this country,” he added.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resolve – “not to allow anyone to compromise with the future of the children of Mother India” —Singh said, “This bill can be described, in a way, as a milestone legislation in the history of Indian Parliament.” The minister said that amendment will make the law “more stringent” and ensure “speedy justice so that the credibility of all these exams gets enhanced and gets reinstated.”
{{/usCountry}}Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resolve – “not to allow anyone to compromise with the future of the children of Mother India” —Singh said, “This bill can be described, in a way, as a milestone legislation in the history of Indian Parliament.” The minister said that amendment will make the law “more stringent” and ensure “speedy justice so that the credibility of all these exams gets enhanced and gets reinstated.”
{{/usCountry}}The bill proposes a minimum jail term of five years and setting up of fast-track courts that will complete the trial within three months from the filing of the chargesheet, among other changes. The proposed law also allows setting up of a special task force to probe paper leaks.
“The most important thing which the PM also mentioned through the video is to ensure speedy justice. We will have special fast-track courts established only for the cases dealing with unfair means in examinations. We have set a time limit in that also. The investigation has to be completed within a span of two months regardless of whether it is a central agency or a special task force,” Singh told the Lok Sabha.
Recalling Congress-era exam paper leaks, the Union minister argued that a Congress government had recommended establishing a common national testing agency and the National Testing Agency was eventually formed in 2017. “In 1992, for the first time, a recommendation was made to the Government of India, led by the Congress party, to establish a common national testing agency. Then, in 2010, during UPA’s tenure, a committee suggested the same thing; I do not know why it was not given due consideration, for whatever reasons or vested interests. So, I think you must compliment Prime Minister Modi and this government. It has completed a task - an unfinished task - that you should have accomplished yourselves.”
Opposition attacks government over paper leaks, police action
Opening the debate, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi argued that the government has failed to check paper leaks despite having a law. He also criticised the government over the alleged use of pellet guns and electric batons against the protesters and questioned the behaviour of police in demeaning the dignity of women.
Calling the amendments as “cosmetic exercise”, Gogoi said, “This government is not serious about education. It does not want to bring real reforms. This is merely a showpiece amendment. If that 2024 law was so effective, why has the government been forced to bring such major amendments within two years? The 2026 leak proved that the law was a failure and it will fail again,” he said.
Also read: ‘Garlanding him as if he won war with Pakistan’: Congress slams Pradhan's felicitation in Parliament
Akhilesh, Banerjee back students, question BJP's record
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that by removing one “Pradhan” the government had saved the “Pradhan Mantri”.
“When the Minister [Former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan] arrived [outside Parliament], he was welcomed outside the House. Imagine the immense relief the members must have felt and the major crisis from which they were saved. By removing one ‘Pradhan’, you effectively saved the ‘Pradhan Mantri’,” Yadav said.
Backing the student protests at Jantar Mantar, Yadav said it displayed the “determination, grit and willpower” of the youth and their resolve forced the government to shed its “arrogance” and accept their demands. “The government thought it was invincible, but youngsters proved ‘jhukti hai duniya, jhukane wala chahiye (The world bends, we need someone to bend it)’,” he added.
The SP chief questioned how the BJP, which failed to prevent the theft of donations at the Ram Temple, could stop paper leaks.
Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee maintained that the new bill could not erase “12 years of incompetence and the government’s failure”, even as he extended his party’s support to the bill. “We support this bill, but I want to make it very clear in the beginning that just because we support this bill doesn’t mean the government should expect us to applaud those who set the world on fire because they turn up with a bucket of water. We support this bill and the amendment because no responsible political party--every student deserves the assurance that examinations should be fair; every parent deserves the confidence that success is determined by hard work, talent, and integrity, not by money, influence, or organised criminal syndicates. But support for this bill cannot be a substitute for accountability,” Banerjee said.
BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj questioned the Opposition’s outrage. “Before the opposition accuses me of whataboutery, it is not about whataboutery, but I am calling out the Opposition on its selective outrage. If this fight is about principle, then how does the principle change after seeing the government?” she said.
Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav demanded Union home minister Amit Shah personally answer for “barbaric” police crackdown on students.