Shashi Tharoor Criticizes Paper Leak Bill in Lok Sabha
Shashi Tharoor argued that increasing punishments under the Public Examinations Amendment Bill is insufficient to fix India's broken exam paper leak system.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticized the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, during a marathon debate in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The proposed legislation seeks to increase the minimum imprisonment for exam leaks from three to five years, with a maximum possible term of ten years, and raises the maximum fine from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
Tharoor argued that enhancing punishments and establishing more fast-track courts are insufficient measures. He noted that 2025 data revealed existing courts disposed of only 66,000 of 1.44 lakh registered cases, leaving more than 2.5 lakh cases pending. He contended that the government must focus on repairing a broken system to prevent leaks before they occur rather than simply punishing actors after a crime has been committed.
The debate remained inconclusive, with Tharoor maintaining that passing a law to punish individuals is not enough to ensure such failures do not recur.
Keep reading in the app
The full story and every source, free in the app.
Coming soonGoogle Play