The Centre will introduce an amendment to the Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The 2026 Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Amendment Bill proposes stricter punishments, a two-month investigation deadline and a Special Task Force to investigate serious offences related to public examinations, The Hindu reported.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh will move the bill in the House, according to the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

The draft legislation was circulated among MPs on Saturday, the same day that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.

Under the proposed amendments, individuals found using unfair means in public examinations would face imprisonment of five to ten years, compared with the current punishment of three to five years, The Indian Express reported.

The maximum fine for such persons would increase from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.

The bill also increases the minimum punishment for organised exam-related offences from five years to seven years in prison, and raises the minimum fine from Rs 1 crore to Rs 10 crore.

The bill proposes empowering the Union government to set up a Special Task Force to investigate offences under the proposed legislation when required. Investigations by police, central investigating agencies or the task force would have to be completed within two months, The Indian Express reported.

It also proposes the creation of Special Fast Track Courts by state governments and Union Territory administrations for cases under the proposed law. Pending cases under the Act would also be transferred to these fast-track courts and disposed of within three months of transfer.

The developments come following nationwide protests demanding educational reforms and the education minister’s resignation. On Saturday, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from his post, after which the Cockroach Janta Party, which had been leading the movement, withdrew its agitation.

The protest in the national capital began on June 6, when the Cockroach Janta Party began a protest at Jantar Mantar.

On July 19, thousands joined the protest in Delhi after the police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike, to hospital. A march to Parliament on Monday was met with a crackdown by the police. Dozens were injured as the police used lathis, fired tear gas shells and pellet guns against the demonstrators.

The police action turbocharged the agitation, which soon spread to other parts of the country.

Wangchuk ended his hunger strike after 26 days in the early hours of Friday at Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital in the presence of Singh and Union minister JP Nadda.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

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