How do I report an exam paper leak in India?
Short answer
Preserve the original file and screenshots with sender, group and timestamp intact, and do not forward it — forwarding falls within the offence. Report to the examining body's grievance channel first if the exam has not been held, then to the police: offences under the 2024 Act are cognisable, so an FIR must be registered.
Verified · 4 cited sources
Preserve evidence before anything else. Screenshots showing the sender, group name, date and time; the original file with its metadata intact; the forwarded chain if visible. Do not edit, crop or re-save the file — an unmodified original is worth far more than a cropped screenshot.
Do not forward it, not even to warn people. Knowingly participating in the circulation of a leaked paper falls within the definition of unfair means under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act 2024, and 'I was only warning others' is not a defence written into the statute.
Report to the examining body first if the exam has not yet been held, because they are the only party who can act in time — the National Testing Agency's official candidate grievance channel for NEET-UG, JEE Main and CUET, or the relevant commission or board for other examinations. Keep the acknowledgement and reference number.
Report to the police. Every offence under the 2024 Act is cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, so a police station must register an FIR where the information discloses an offence, and investigation must be conducted by an officer of at least Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police rank. If a station refuses, escalate in writing to the Superintendent or Deputy Commissioner of Police — see our page on whether police can refuse to file an FIR.
For a central examination the matter may be referred to a central agency. The NEET-UG 2026 case went to the Central Bureau of Investigation on 12 May 2026, the same day the exam was cancelled.
Keep a dated log of every report with its reference number. Under the 2026 amendment, investigations must conclude within 60 days and trials within three months of the chargesheet, in fast-track courts — a compressed timeline in which a witness who reported early with intact evidence matters a great deal. If you want the examining body's own record of what it did with your complaint, an RTI to it asking for the action taken and the number of complaints received is the standard route.
- Preserve the unmodified original file plus screenshots showing sender, group and timestamp
- Do not forward it — knowingly circulating a leaked paper is itself within the offence
- Report to the examining body first if the exam has not yet been held; keep the reference number
- Then the police: the offence is cognisable, so an FIR must be registered; investigation is at DSP/ACP rank or above
- Follow up with an RTI to the examining body asking what action it took
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Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 LawWikipediaUsed for: Definition of unfair means including participation in circulation, and the cognisable and non-bailable status of offences
- 2.Amendment to the Public Examinations Act, 2024 NewsNextIASUsed for: Investigating officer rank, central agency referral, and the 60-day investigation and three-month trial deadlines
- 3.National Testing Agency OfficialNTAUsed for: Candidate grievance redressal channel for NEET-UG, JEE Main and CUET
- 4.Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 LawGovernment of IndiaUsed for: Mandatory FIR registration for a cognisable offence and the escalation route on refusal
The procedure described reflects the Act's provisions and the ordinary criminal process, not a prescribed statutory reporting form — there is no dedicated national leak-reporting portal. Examining body grievance channels and their windows differ by body and by examination cycle; check the current information bulletin. Whether a specific document constitutes evidence of an offence is a question for the investigating agency. This is general information, not legal advice — for a specific situation, free legal aid is available through your District Legal Services Authority on 15100.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — Government of India ministries and departments, statutory authorities, regulators such as the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and TRAI, state governments and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgments and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Fees, slabs, limits and processing times change, often at the start of a financial year on 1 April; figures are current as of the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible department before you rely on them. A great deal of Indian administration is state administration — where a rule differs by state, this site says so.