New Delhi, Jul 29: Lok Sabha on Wednesday approved a bill to amend the anti-paper leak law with stricter punishment with government asserting that the measure was taken as it is “open to learning from experiences”.

The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 was introduced in the House by Union minister Jitendra Singh on July 27, days after large-scale student protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party forced Dharmendra Pradhan to resign as the education minister.

Speaking in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Singh said the government acted swiftly in the NEET paper leak case, and as many as 52 FIRs have been lodged since the anti-paper leak law came into force in 2024.

The amendment bill indicates that the government is open to learning from experience, he said, noting that the rate of suicide related to paper leaks has also reduced over the last few years.

Singh criticised Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, stating that he lacks knowledge of parliamentary norms and the functioning of the government.

Expressing disappointment over sloganeering by the opposition parties during the passage of the bill, the minister said, “Instead of debating it seriously and offering suggestions, attempts are being made to politicise it.”

“I am surprised by the behaviour of the leader of opposition…,” he said.

Immediately after the passage of the bill, Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day

On Monday, Singh introduced the bill to amend the anti-paper leaks law with stricter punishment of up to 10 years in jail and Rs 50 lakh fine amid protests and sloganeering by the Opposition demanding a response from the government over the police crackdown on students during the CJP-led July 20 protest march to Parliament.

Protests by opposition parties over the NEET issue led to daily disruption of proceedings in the first week of the Monsoon session of Parliament.

The 2024 law was brought in when the government faced raging paper leak controversies. Before this legislation, there was no specific substantive law to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed by various entities involved in the conduct of public examinations by the central government and its agencies.

The Act aimed to prevent unfair means in the public examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the railways, banking recruitment examinations and the National Testing Agency (NTA), among others.

Responding to Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s remarks alleging that on innocent children atrocities and oppression were inflicted, Singh said, “utmost restraint was exercised and it was made sure that casualties do not happen”.

According to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, investigations into paper leak cases are to be completed within two months.

The bill says that individuals involved in paper leaks or unfair means in exams will get jail terms for a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years, and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh.

For organised crimes, the bill proposes a minimum sentence of seven years and a fine of up to Rs 10 crore.

The amendment bill seeks to empower all the state governments and UT administrations to designate any court of session to be a special fast-track court to try offences under the proposed law.

It also provides that the proceedings in such courts are continued on a day-to-day basis and the trial is completed within three months from the date of filing of the charge sheet.

It also empowers the central government to constitute a special task force for investigation of any offence, if necessary.

New Delhi, Jul 29: The threat of weapons of mass destruction persists in the current era, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday, as he inaugurated the country’s first academic and operational facility exclusively for military medicine.

The defence minister virtually inaugurated the Department of Military Medicine at the Command Hospital (Central Command) in Lucknow, asserting it will serve as a hub for research and development, preparing the nation to deal with “emerging threats”.

Highlighting the growing importance of military medicine, Singh said the discipline studies the physical and mental stresses on soldiers during combat situations.

“Our soldiers are deployed in some of the world’s most complex regions and harshest climates, exposed to diverse challenges. This new department will develop medical protocols tailored for these operational environments,” he said.

The defence minister emphasised that alongside traditional weaponry, the threat of weapons of mass destruction persists in the current era. “In such a situation, the department will serve as a hub for research and development, equipping the nation to deal with emerging threats arising out of the rapid technologies advancements,” he said.

As the world’s largest democracy and a responsible power, India is one of the largest military contributors to United Nations’ peacekeeping missions, and at the forefront of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations far beyond national borders, the defence ministry said.

The Department of Military Medicine will prove invaluable in enhancing expertise in disaster response, field hospital deployment, mass casualty management and epidemic control, it added.

The newly-established department has been conceived as a centre of excellence in military medicine and will serve as the principal academic, research and doctrinal hub for Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS).

It will provide structured education and training in military and operational medicine, facilitate postgraduate programmes in domains such as combat medicine, combat surgery and trauma care, and promote indigenous research tailored to India’s operational requirements, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Singh expressed hope that the department will act as a training facility for young doctors of the Army Medical Corps in battlefield healthcare and advanced life support.

“The department will open up a new career pathway for young medical professionals. Students will now be able to pursue super-specialisation in military medicine. This will not only enhance intellectual capital within the military, but also elevate India’s stature in medical research on the international stage,” he added.

The Department of Military Medicine aims to enhance combat medical readiness, advancing research, developing indigenous doctrines and creating specialised expertise for future battlefields and humanitarian contingencies.

Established under the aegis of the Directorate General of Medical Services (Army), it marks a significant step in strengthening the operational medical preparedness of the AFMS, the ministry statement said.

In his address, Singh emphasised that while economic and social development are essential aspects of nation-building, the fundamental basis of any nation’s sovereignty and progress rests on the strength and morale of its military.

He asserted that the establishment of the Department of Military Medicine reflects a “revolutionary shift” in the country defence capabilities, exuding confidence that the newly-established facility would strengthen national security by ensuring advanced medical support for the troops, while reinforcing their confidence that that they would receive timely care during operations.

Underscoring the critical need for preventive healthcare, Singh asserted that it should be viewed as the first line of defence.

He called for developing a system that can identify and mitigate health risks at early stages through disease surveillance, vaccination, sanitation, nutrition, physical fitness, occupational health and regular health screenings.

“Preventive healthcare is directly linked to combat readiness and national security. We can leverage technologies such as AI, wearable devices, predictive analytics, and advanced diagnostics to enhance real-time monitoring of soldiers’ health and the early identification of potential health risks,” he said.

The department will focus on key disciplines including military trauma and damage control, combat psychiatry and resilience, environmental and operational medicine, military medical logistics, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNe) medical response, emergency medicine and critical care, disaster medicine and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) as well as research, audit and data analytics, the ministry said.

It will also foster innovation in technology-enabled battlefield medicine, simulation-based training, telemedicine, prolonged field care and medical decision support, it said.

The department will be developed in a phased manner, with the initial phase focusing on establishment and commencement of academic programmes, followed by creation of centres of excellence in HADR and CBRNe medicine, it added.

New Delhi, Jul 29: Delhi Police has registered an FIR against several social media handles for allegedly posting “derogatory, malicious and defamatory content” targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought complete details of account holders from X, official sources said on Wednesday.

The case was registered by the Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit, which also issued notices to X and directed it to remove or disable access to identified posts and preserve all related electronic records for investigation, the sources said.

X, formerly Twitter, has been directed to remove or disable access to the content within three hours of receiving the notices while ensuring that all relevant data, logs and subscriber information are preserved, they said.

The FIR against seven to eight handles has been filed under Sections 351(3) (criminal intimidation), 353(2) (circulating false information, rumours, or alarming news-including via electronic media) and 356(2) (whoever defames another person) of the BNS.

The case follows a complaint alleging that objectionable content aimed at constitutional authorities was being circulated on the social media platform.

Some social media posts under scrutiny were uploaded during and after the July 20 Sansad Chalo protests spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party in which abusive language was used against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and security personnel. During the clashes at the protest, at least 65 protesters and over 200 police personnel sustained injuries, officials maintain.

The notices to X, under the relevant provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), seek complete subscriber information of the accounts, including names, addresses, contact details, email IDs, and login and logout records with date and time stamps. Police has also sought any additional information that may assist the investigation and asked the platform to preserve the relevant data for evidentiary purposes, he added.

According to the notices, the complaint alleges that “derogatory, malicious and defamatory” content was circulated on X targeting constitutional functionaries. Investigators are examining whether the posts attract offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and other applicable provisions of law, the source said.

In a parallel exercise, the IFSO issued “Intimation to Intermediary for Disabling Access to Unlawful Information” notices under the rules of the IT Act, Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021, directing X to disable access to several identified URLs, according to one of the notices.

The notices state that the content hosted on the platform allegedly contained false, manipulated and objectionable material intended to defame public personalities.

One notice refers to an FIR registered by the Special Cell under various sections and their sub-sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, alleging that circulation of the content had caused serious harm to the reputation, dignity and public image of the prime minister and had the potential to disturb public order and fuel unnecessary controversy, the sources said.

Police said the investigation is underway and further action will be taken based on the digital evidence and information received from the social media platform.

New Delhi, Jul 29: The Supreme Court on Wednesday closed a criminal case against former prime minister Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case while setting aside a summoning order passed against him.

Singh, who passed away on December 27 2024, now stands formally acquitted in the high-profile criminal case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana accepted the CBI’s closure report giving a clean chit to the former PM and others.

The top court said there was no reason for the trial court judge to turn down closure reports of CBI and take cognisance.

“Due to unfortunate demise of the appellant, this appeal could be disposed of as infructuous. But with a view to consider the aspect of ld. spl. judge taking cognisance and summoning the appellant, we have gone through both closure reports filed by CBI.

“Having regard to the relevant parameters consistently laid down by this court on acceptance of reports of investigating agency, we are satisfied that there was no reason for ld. judge to turn down closure reports of CBI and take cognisance. We allow the appeal and set aside the impugned judgment. As a result, we accept the closure reports of CBI and close the matter,” the bench said.

Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, ex-coal secretary P C Parakh and three others were summoned as accused by a special court in a coal scam case pertaining to allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005.

The Supreme Court, however, intervened and stayed the directive.

Singh had questioned the absence of the mandated sanction for prosecuting public officials like him, and denied any criminality in his decision concerning the coal block allocation.

Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar had summoned the six accused for the alleged offences punishable under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the IPC and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

Besides these three, the court had also summoned M/s Hindalco, its officials Shubhendu Amitabh and D Bhattacharya as accused in the case.

The case pertains to allocation of Talabira II coal block in Odisha to M/s Hindalco in 2005, when the then Prime Minister Singh was holding the coal portfolio.

CBI, in its FIR, had named Parakh, Birla, M/s Hindalco Industries Ltd and other unknown persons for alleged offences under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and under provisions of the PCA.

However, the agency had later on filed a closure report in the court, which had refused to accept it.

The court had directed CBI to examine former Prime Minister Singh and some top officials of the then Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), including Singh’s then Principal Secretary T K A Nair and then private secretary B V R Subramanyam.