SC to hear after six weeks plea to confiscate property of offenders in paper leak cases

New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear after six weeks a plea seeking directions to confiscate the movable and immovable property of offenders and their family members involved in exam question paper leak cases.

The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe.

On August 18, the apex court had sought responses from the Centre and the state governments on the plea filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

"All of us will have to file pleadings. So let pleadings be complete," Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for the Centre, told the bench on Friday.

She said all the states have also been made party in the petition.

The bench asked the respondents to file their counter affidavits and posted the matter after six weeks.

During the hearing on August 18, Upadhyay had submitted that he was not pressing his prayer seeking measures to ensure time-bound probe and trial in question paper leak cases as the Public Examinations Amendment Bill, 2026, which tightens anti-paper leak laws, has been passed.

The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey, also sought directions to take steps for assessment of entire property of perpetrators and their family members, and accordingly invoke the appropriate provisions of laws, including the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

"Direct and declare that sentence in paper leak shall be consecutive, not concurrent, in order to prevent such incidents in future. Alternatively, direct the Law Commission to examine international practices and prepare a report on paper leak within three months," the plea said.

The plea submitted that repeated failures by the authorities to prevent, investigate, and prosecute those responsible for paper leaks have led to serious violations of students' fundamental rights under Articles 14, 16, 19, and 21 of the Constitution.

The plea highlighted the profound impact of paper leaks on students and their families, pointing to mental and physical trauma, loss of educational and employment opportunities, mounting financial burdens from unpaid loans, and a rise in cases of student suicides.

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