President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, gave her assent to a law raising the punishment for unfair means in public examinations, days after the Bill was pushed through the Lok Sabha by voice vote amid repeated disruptions, without proper debate on its provisions. President Murmu’s assent came within days of Parliament clearing the Bill. (Rashtrapati Bhavan/PTI) The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026 which has now been published in the official gazette rewrites section 10 of the 2024 Act, replacing a punishment scale of “three years but which may extend to five years and with fine up to ten lakh rupees” with a steeper term of “five years but which may extend up to ten years and with fine up to fifty lakh rupees.” The Bill’s passage on July 29 was overshadowed by opposition protests over alleged police action against students demonstrating over National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leaks, with Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi raising the issue before the debate on the Bill itself even began. …