Parliament clears anti-paper leak bill after Opposition walks out of Rajya Sabha

Parliament on Thursday cleared the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, after it was passed in the Rajya Sabha amid a Congress-led Opposition walkout demanding Home Minister Amit Shah's presence during the minister's reply.Parliament on Thursday cleared the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026.Parliament on Thursday cleared the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, after the Rajya Sabha passed the legislation by a voice vote amid a walkout by Opposition parties led by the Congress. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.The government said the amended law prescribes stricter punishment for paper leaks and aims to address a major issue affecting students while seeking cooperation from all sections.The Rajya Sabha approved the bill a day after the Lok Sabha passed it, completing Parliament's approval of the legislation.Under the bill, individuals involved in paper leaks or unfair means in public examinations will face imprisonment ranging from a minimum of five years to a maximum of 10 years, along with a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh. For organised crimes related to paper leaks, the bill prescribes a minimum jail term of seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore. The amendment also empowers all state governments and Union Territory administrations to designate any Court of Session as a special fast-track court to try offences under the proposed law. It mandates that proceedings in these courts continue on a day-to-day basis and that trials conclude within three months of the filing of the charge sheet.The bill further empowers the central government to constitute a special task force to investigate any offence under the law, if necessary. The Rajya Sabha witnessed a walkout by Opposition parties led by the Congress shortly before the bill's passage. The protest came after the day-long debate on the legislation concluded with BJP MP Kavita Patidar's speech.After Chairman CP Radhakrishnan called Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh to reply to the debate, Congress MP and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari demanded the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah in the House."We talked about sticks, we talked about bullets. We had hope that before the discussion in the House, Home Minister Amit Shah would come, but he is not coming," Tiwari said.Radhakrishnan rejected the demand and asked Singh to proceed with his reply, following which the Congress and some other Opposition parties staged a walkout.Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, JP Nadda, criticised the Opposition's decision, saying it showed that they had "lost the issue"."Today, the discussion has been going on for about 8 hours. Every member has been given the right to speak. The Opposition has listened to all the issues very carefully. And with that, when the minister stood up to answer, Tiwari started opposing it. This is irresponsible behaviour, which is being carried out. And that is why I said that they have no interest in the discussion," Nadda said.He added that the Opposition had "got no respect for democracy and parliamentary procedures."Earlier in the debate on the bill, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah from the House despite what he described as widespread unrest.Kharge also held Shah responsible for alleged police brutalities on protesting students and said that "Jan Shakti" (people's power) would "drag him out" one day to make him accountable.- EndsPublished By: Prateek ChakrabortyPublished On: Jul 30, 2026 21:29 IST