Anti-paper leak law gets President’s nod, tougher penalties kick in

President Droupadi Murmu approved the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, mandating fast-track courts, stricter penalties and time-bound investigations for paper leak cases, with imprisonment up to 10 years and fines reaching Rs 10 crore

New Delhi: An amended law that empowers states to set up fast-track courts for speedy trials of accused and enhance punishment in public examination question paper leak cases has received the assent of President Droupadi Murmu. In a gazette notification issued on Friday, the law ministry said President Murmu has given her assent to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, after it was cleared by both Houses of Parliament earlier this week.

Now, investigations into paper leak cases are to be completed within two months. According to the legislation, individuals involved in paper leaks or unfair means in exams will get jail terms for a minimum of five years and a maximum of 10 years, and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh.

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For organised crimes, the amended law proposes a minimum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore. The government pushed for an early passage of the Bill by Parliament amid massive protests here and in other parts of the country by students against the NEET 2026 paper leak.

The new law amends a two-year-old Act by enhancing fines and imposing stricter punishments on paper leak convicts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised the law and fast-track courts amid the recent student protests. The law outlines 15 illegal acts, including leaking question papers, tampering with OMR sheets, creating fake websites and issuing fake admit cards.

The 2024 law was brought in when the government faced raging paper leak controversies. Before the 2024 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 previous Act aimed to prevent unfair means in public examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railways, banking recruitment examinations and the National Testing Agency (NTA), among others.

Under the amended law, all the states and UTs will be directed to set up fast-track courts, which will complete the trial within three months of filing of the chargesheet.