Bill Amending Anti-Paper Leak Law Receives President's Assent

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to a legislation aimed at strengthening measures against question paper leaks in public examinations.

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to establish fast-track courts in every state for the expeditious trial of accused persons and to increase penalties in cases involving leaks of public examination question papers, has now become law.

According to a gazette notification issued by the Law Ministry on Friday, the President accorded her assent to the Bill after it was passed by both Houses of Parliament earlier this week.

Earlier, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, was cleared by the Rajya Sabha on Friday, with Opposition members staging a walkout during the voting.

The legislation triggered a sharp political divide, with Opposition parties accusing the Centre of rushing the amendments and failing to address the root causes of recurring examination paper leaks. They alleged that the Bill was brought to defuse widespread student protests rather than introduce systemic reforms to prevent future irregularities.

The Centre, however, defended the amendments, saying they reflected the government's willingness to "learn from experience" following the implementation of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, and were aimed at further strengthening the legal framework to curb examination malpractices.

(With inputs from ANI)