Opposition Alleges Instances of Paper Leaks in Panjab; CM Denies Allegations

August

2026

Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) Member of Parliament (MP) Swati Maliwal accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of failing to address examination irregularities in Panjab, claiming that the state had witnessed six major paper leaks over the past five years. Demanding Education Minister Harjot Bains’ resignation, Maliwal alleged that several instances of cheating had also come to light, including the pharmacy examination conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) on 19 Jul with nearly 7K candidates appearing, for which the police said they found no evidence of a question paper leak or the involvement of any government official but arrested seven masterminds, recovered 27 battery-operated wireless cheating devices, including pen cameras and real-time dictation tools, and detained 28 candidates. Opposition parties allege that the following paper leaks and malpractices took place in Panjab since the AAP came to power in 2022: the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board (PSSSB) conducted on 21 Dec 2025, for which the probe initiated by the Panjab Vigilance Bureau is still ongoing even though results were declared the recruitments remain frozen; the Agriculture Development Officers (ADOs) held on 30 Jun 2024; Punjab State Teachers Eligibility Test (PSTET), which constitutes two papers (Papers 1 and 2) held on 12 Mar 2023; Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), scheduled for 24 Feb 2023, was cancelled at the last minute after an alleged paper leak and the Naib Tehsildar (revenue officer) Exam, which was to be held on 22 May 2022 was cancelled due to allegations of massive cheating and rigging, and was re-conducted on 18 Jun 2023. Bharatiya Janata Party also staged protests outside Parliament in New Delhi on 28 Jul demanding Bains’ resignation. On 29 Jul, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to order a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged cases of examination paper leaks in Panjab. However, Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann contends that there had not been a single competitive examination paper leak during the AAP’s tenure in office. Meanwhile, several student, farmer, and employee organizations launched an indefinite protest outside BFUHS in Faridkot on 29 Jul, demanding action against those responsible for the leak of the Pharmacy Officer recruitment paper and the resignation of Health Minister Balbir Singh. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has put the pharmacist recruitment on hold following a petition demanding investigation into the cheating racket (earlier coverage).