President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the legislation aiming at raising the punishment for unfair means in public examinations, days after the bill was pushed through both the Houses of Parliament by voice vote earlier this week.
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.
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 up to 10 years and a fine up to ₹50 lakh. Earlier, the punishment scale was three years jail term, extendable up to five years and ₹10 lakh.
For organised crimes, the amended law proposes a minimum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to ₹10 crore. The law outlines 15 illegal acts, including leaking question papers, tampering with OMR sheets, creating fake websites and issuing fake admit cards.
The government pushed for an early passage of the Bill by Parliament amid massive protests across the country by students against the NEET 2026 paper leak.
President Murmu’s assent came within days of Parliament clearing the bill, bringing the amended penalties into force from the date of publication.
