The legislation amends the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. It aims to improve transparency, accountability and integrity in public examinations through tougher penalties while protecting the interests of genuine candidates.
Key provisions include enhanced punishments of imprisonment up to 10 years, fines reaching Rs 10 crore, confiscation of assets of those found guilty, and a mechanism intended to ensure that judgments in such cases are delivered within three months.
The debate reflected sharp differences between the treasury and Opposition benches. Members of the NDA and its allies supported the Bill and called for broader reforms in the examination system. Opposition speakers questioned whether the amendments adequately addressed the root causes of recurring paper leaks and examination failures.
The Bill’s passage followed large-scale student protests in New Delhi on 20 July over the NEET paper leak and other irregularities. Demonstrators had demanded the resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who stepped down on 25 July.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, participating in the discussion, said political parties should respect the expression of the country’s future generation and described the Jantar Mantar protest as something every Indian should view with pride. “This was not anger. This was not violence. This was not hatred but an expression of the future generation of this country,” he said.
The discussion grew more acrimonious after Gandhi made allegations concerning the influence of the RSS on the education system and the handling of student protests in Delhi, including claims directed at Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju challenged Gandhi to substantiate the allegations with evidence or apologise, stating that such claims should not be made without proof.
Replying to the debate, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh rejected the allegations and said the Leader of the Opposition appeared to lack a basic understanding of administrative procedures. He clarified that decisions on the use of force are taken by magistrates and not by ministers, and stated that only tear gas had been used. Singh also dismissed claims about the Home Minister’s travel and security arrangements as unsupported by evidence.
Defending the legislation, Singh said the government had incorporated suggestions from multiple stakeholders. He detailed the revised penalties: the maximum fine for service providers was raised from Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore; punishment for directors and senior management was increased to five-to-ten years’ imprisonment with a fine of up to Rs 5 crore; and the earlier three-to-five-year term with a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh was enhanced to five-to-ten years with a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh. For organised examination rackets and criminal syndicates involved in paper leaks, the minimum prison term has been raised to seven years with a fine of up to Rs 10 crore.
Among those who spoke in the debate were Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, BJP members Anurag Thakur and Tejasvi Surya, and NCP’s Supriya Sule.
With the Bill now cleared by the Lok Sabha, the government positions the amendments as a stronger legal deterrent against examination fraud while the Opposition continues to press for deeper systemic reforms.
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