India: Lawmakers endorse tough exam leak bill after Cockroach protests

Facing pressure from the youth-led CJP protests, India's government pushed through a bill to combat "paper mafias" leaking exam questions. But opposition lawmakers walked out before the bill was passed in Rajya Sabha.

The new legislation comes after youth-led protests calling for sweeping reforms and forcing minister's resignation

3 min readPatnaUpdated: Jul 31, 2026 04:58 AM IST In a letter to the Director of Medical Education, Bihar, an NMC deputy secretary sought the inquiry following written complaints by Vikash Chandra, a social activist from Patna. (Photo: Getty Images/Thinkstock) The National Medical Commission (NMC) has sought a state-le

The bill, which would increase penalties for leaking exam papers, must now be signed into law by President Droupadi Murmu. The approval, which came after several hours of discussion, followed weeks of mass protests over leaked exam papers

Fixing the exam system will not solve that

Can computer-based testing stop NEET paper leaks? Experts say governance matters as much as tech.

India’s lower house of parliament approved a bill on Wednesday that would toughen penalties for leaking exam papers, after youth-led protests calling for sweeping reforms forced the education minister to resign.

India’s lower house of Parliament approved tougher penalties for leaks of competitive exam papers on Wednesday, responding to a wave of student protests that posed one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recent years.

The country's top court has contradicted the assurance extended by India's federal government that all police complaints against protesters would be withdrawn.

Journalist and author Snigdhendu Bhattacharya joins host Tushar Shetty to examine what the Cockroach Janata Party protests reveal about the erosion of India's democratic institutions.

The CJP's Saurav Das said the Supreme Court had allowed the police to proceed with existing FIRs and expressed apprehension that the government would "weaponise" this against protesters.

India’s latest youth protests began after examination papers were leaked. They could ultimately be seen as a referendum on the country’s development model. The immediate trigger was the controversy around the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), India’s highly competitive medical entrance exam. Evidence surfa

INDIA’S youth-led Cockroach movement accused the government of backtracking on its promise not to act against student protesters, threatening to restart demonstrations that forced the resignation of the education minister. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which organised mass protests over exam paper leaks, said hundre

NEW DELHI: India's government proposed on Tuesday (Jul 28) longer jail terms and heftier fines for examination paper leaks, seeking to restore confidence after youth-led protests focused on education reforms rocked the country.Under the proposed legal change submitted to parliament, the maximum prison term for those in

Cockroach Janta party says government has broken promise, with detentions in Delhi, Assam, West Bengal and Bihar India’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement, whose nationwide protests forced the resignation of the education minister, has accused the government of backtracking on its promise not to act against student protes