Parliament is set for another politically charged day on Thursday as the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 moves to the Rajya Sabha, a day after it was passed by the Lok Sabha following a heated debate over paper leaks and recent student protests. The Upper House is expected to take up the legislation around 2 pm, with nearly seven hours reportedly set aside for discussion. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Mukul Wasnik are among those expected to participate. The proposed law seeks to strengthen action against examination malpractices through tougher penalties for paper leaks, Special Task Forces and Fast Track Courts. The Lok Sabha cleared the legislation by voice vote on Wednesday after a marathon discussion that began Tuesday afternoon and continued until late in the evening before resuming the following day. The debate, however, was dominated as much by the political confrontation over the treatment of protesting students as by the provisions of the bill itself.

The political fight continued outside the House after BJP leaders rejected Rahul Gandhi's allegations concerning the July 20 student protest. BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra said no shots were fired at students and rejected Gandhi's allegation that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had ordered firing. Patra argued that Gandhi had produced no evidence to support the charge and said decisions involving firing are taken by a magistrate rather than a Union minister. Union Minister Jitendra Singh also targeted the Leader of Opposition during his reply to the debate, accusing him of using unparliamentary language and failing to follow basic parliamentary norms. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and Gandhi had earlier exchanged sharp words in the Lok Sabha after a remark made by the Congress leader while recounting a conversation with a student drew objections from the treasury benches. Speaker Om Birla subsequently expunged the expression. BJP MP Rahul Sinha, meanwhile, defended the government's handling of the student agitation, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had understood the concerns of students and arguing that Congress had no right to lecture the government on paper leaks given similar incidents in Congress-ruled states.
Thursday's parliamentary agenda extends beyond the exam reforms bill. The Lok Sabha is scheduled to consider the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to amend the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956. Before taking up the legislation, the House is expected to discuss a statutory resolution moved by Opposition MPs seeking disapproval of the related ordinance promulgated earlier this year. Congress MP Manish Tewari has separately submitted an Adjournment Motion Notice seeking a discussion on a new anti-defection framework aimed at curbing mass political defections while preserving space for legitimate dissent. In the Rajya Sabha, Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala has sought suspension of business to discuss alleged misuse of donations connected with the Ram Mandir. The Upper House is also scheduled to consider the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026. With the Opposition continuing to raise questions over student protests and examination irregularities while the government pushes ahead with its legislative agenda, another stormy day is expected in both Houses of Parliament.

the Lok Sabha on wednesday passed the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 by voice vote, clearing tougher provisions against paper leaks and the use of unfair means in public examinations. The legislation was approved amid loud sloganeering and repeated disruptions as the government and Opposition remained locked in a heated confrontation over the recent student protests and police action at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. The amended law proposes a substantial increase in punishment for individuals involved in examination malpractice. Under the proposed provisions, the minimum imprisonment for individuals involved in paper leaks or unfair means will increase from three years to five years, while the maximum punishment can extend to 10 years. A fine of up to ₹50 lakh has also been proposed. For organised crime linked to examination fraud, the legislation provides for tougher punishment and a fine that can go up to ₹10 crore, reflecting the government's attempt to target organised networks operating behind large-scale paper leaks.

The passage of the anti-paper leak bill came after a stormy debate that repeatedly moved beyond examination reforms and into the handling of recent student demonstrations. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of authorising the use of force against students during the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest at Jantar Mantar. His remarks triggered strong objections from the treasury benches and led to sharp exchanges inside the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju hit back at the Opposition, accusing Congress leaders of using the discussion on examination reforms to pursue a political agenda rather than concentrating on the provisions of the legislation. Opposition MPs continued raising slogans as the bill was taken up for passage. The confrontation came after days of political tension over examination irregularities and the student agitation, which had already dominated proceedings during the Monsoon Session. Opposition parties have argued that tougher punishment alone will not resolve problems within the examination system and have demanded greater accountability over alleged paper leaks and the police response to protesters.

The government, however, has maintained that the amendment is aimed at creating stronger deterrence against individuals and organised groups involved in compromising competitive examinations. By increasing prison terms and introducing significantly higher financial penalties, the Centre is seeking to make involvement in paper leaks far more costly. The legislation comes at a time when examination security has become a major political issue following protests over alleged irregularities and demands from students for broader reforms. The government and Opposition have differed sharply over who should be held responsible, but both sides have acknowledged concerns surrounding the credibility of public examinations. Wednesday's voice vote gives the proposed reforms an important legislative clearance in the Lok Sabha. The political confrontation surrounding the bill, however, showed little sign of easing. The Rahul Gandhi-Rijiju exchange, Opposition sloganeering and continuing questions over the handling of student protesters ensured that what was formally a debate over examination reform remained tied to the wider political battle over youth concerns, accountability and the government's response to the recent agitation.

New Delhi witnessed another heated day in Parliament on Wednesday as the debate over the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 brought the government and Opposition face-to-face over paper leaks, NEET-UG and the recent student protests. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said political parties must respect students’ right to expression and referred to the young protesters who had taken to the streets in recent weeks. He said he felt reassured by what the future of the country had demonstrated on the streets. The debate came after nearly a week of disruptions in the Lok Sabha and focused on proposed tougher punishment and faster trials in paper leak cases. Opposition MPs backed the concerns raised by protesting students and criticised the alleged use of excessive police force, while BJP-led NDA members argued that examination paper leaks were not limited to any single government or political party. They cited cases from the UPA years as well as Opposition-ruled states and maintained that the government was now working on broader examination reforms.

The debate soon moved beyond the provisions of the bill. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over police action during the student agitation. She asked who had authorised the alleged use of pellet guns against protesters in Delhi and referred to an incident involving an AK-47 in Bihar. Bihar Police had said that a constable fired in the air in self-defence. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also attacked the government, saying he had not witnessed the Emergency of the 1970s but had seen a glimpse of it in Delhi the previous week. The issue created uproar in the Rajya Sabha as well, where Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and BJP president JP Nadda clashed over police action during the July 20 protest. Nadda maintained that action against those taking law and order into their own hands was part of normal policing, while the Opposition continued demanding a response from the home minister. DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, meanwhile, pushed the debate in another direction by demanding that NEET itself be scrapped. He argued that increasing punishment for people involved in paper leaks did not address what his party considered the fundamental problems with the national medical entrance examination.

The government accused Opposition parties of turning a discussion on examination reform into a wider political confrontation. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s speech, said he hoped the Congress leader would address the actual provisions of the bill instead of focusing mainly on unrelated political issues. BJP MP Tejasvi Surya accused the Opposition of wrongly assuming that young protesters were politically aligned with it, while Anurag Thakur described paper leaks as a serious threat to the future of the country’s youth. Defending the proposed amendment, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said paper leaks had occurred in national and state-level examinations under governments belonging to different parties and should therefore not be viewed only through a political lens. The proposed legislation seeks more stringent punishment for individuals, organised gangs and entities involved in examination leaks, along with provisions aimed at delivering speedier justice. The debate also spilled into controversy over Pralhad Joshi, who was given additional charge of the Education Ministry following Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation on July 25 amid the student protests. By Wednesday afternoon, what began as a debate on an anti-paper leak law had expanded into a larger political battle over NEET, student protests, police action and government accountability, keeping examination reforms at the centre of Parliament’s Monsoon Session.