With Parliament stalemate over paper leaks ending, Government expected to push legislative agenda in remaining part of monsoon session
New Delhi, July 26
The Parliament is expected to return to its normal functioning tomorrow with resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Education Minister - a key demand of protesting students as well as opposition - with the government set to introduce the Public Examinations Amendment Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha tomorrow as part of its moves to prevent paper leaks in the future in competitive exams.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, has strong penal provisions to deal with any case of paper leaks. It will be introduced by Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh, who along with Union Health Minister JP Nadda held talks with Cockroach Janata Party delegation to find a solution to the protest over the NEET-UG paper leak.
The government is also expected to push its legislative agenda in the remaining period of the monsoon session as the first week was almost washed out due to opposition protests.
According to listed agenda of Lok Sabha for Monday, Jitendra Singh, who is also Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in PMO, will also move the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 for passing after it is introduced in the House.
The Bill introduces seven key amendments designed to plug enforcement loopholes, establish dedicated judicial mechanisms, and accelerate criminal trials.
The proposed legislation seeks to significantly overhaul the 2024 framework by instituting strict time bounds for both investigations and judicial proceedings.
State Governments and Union Territory Administrations will be empowered to designate Courts of Session as Special Fast Track Courts dedicated exclusively to trying offences under the Act.
Proceedings in Special Fast-Track Courts must be conducted on a day-to-day basis, with trials mandated to conclude within three months from the date the chargesheet is filed.
The Centre retains the authority to constitute a dedicated Special Task Force to handle high-stakes or cross-state examination fraud.
Investigations into offences under the Act must be completed within two months to prevent procedural delays.
State Governments and UT Administrations will be authorised to appoint specialised legal counsel specifically for prosecuting examination malpractices.
The bill provides enhanced terms of imprisonment and heavier financial penalties for individuals, coaching centres, and service providers found guilty of organised paper leaks.
Amid the furore over opposition demands, two bills were introduced in the first week of monsoon session - the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in Lok Sabha and The Prevention of Insults to National Honour (Amendment) Bill, 2026 Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Other bills on the government's agenda include the Income-tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026; The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
A 37-day-long demonstration spearheaded by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which got wider support due to fast by activist Sonam Wangchuk, culminated in the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan yesterday.
The monsoon session of Parliament began on July 20 and is expected to continue till August 13
— ANI
Reader Comments
Interesting to see the government pushing this agenda. The Special Task Force for cross-state fraud is a great idea - these organized paper leak syndicates operate everywhere. But I hope they don't target small coaching centers unfairly while the big ones get away.
Finally something positive after all that mess over NEET-UG! But 2 months for investigation seems too long when exams are at stake every year. And why didn't they bring in digital encryption and blockchain for paper security? That would be a real game changer! 🤔
The resignation of the Education Minister seems like a short-term fix. The real problem is our education system's obsession with high-stakes exams. We need holistic assessment, not just tougher laws. But yes, this bill is a good start for accountability.
As a student who went through NEET, this is long overdue. But I'm worried about the term "enhanced penalties" - hope they don't jail poor students who paid someone else out of desperation. The real culprits are the syndicate operators who profit from this.
The Cockroach Janata Party's 37-day protest shows how powerful student movements can be in India. Wangchuk's fast really shook things up. Now the real challenge is whether Parliament can actually pass all these bills when they already wasted a week in shouting matches.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.