India's parliament has passed landmark legislation doubling the maximum prison sentence for examination paper leaks to ten years and raising the maximum fine to over one million dollars, a direct response to weeks of mass protests that forced the country's education minister to resign. The bill cleared both houses of parliament within two days — passing the lower house on Wednesday and the upper Rajya Sabha on Thursday by voice vote after hours of debate — and now awaits the signature of President Droupadi Murmu to become law.

The legislation follows a sustained campaign by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led online movement that mobilised tens of thousands of students across India over recurring exam paper leaks affecting millions of young people. The movement's unusual name originated from a disparaging remark made by India's chief justice about unemployed youth — a label protesters reclaimed as a badge of defiance. At the heart of their demands was accountability for a series of high-profile irregularities, including a leak in the national medical college entrance examination; federal investigators have since charged 13 people in connection with that scandal. Demonstrations in New Delhi turned confrontational on July 20 when crowds attempted to march on parliament, prompting police to fire tear gas and use batons, resulting in clashes and a wave of detentions. The pressure ultimately proved decisive: Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday, describing his departure as a sacrifice to spare the nation from further turmoil.

For political analysts, the episode carries significance well beyond the legislation itself. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has governed India for 12 years, had cultivated a reputation for resisting protest pressure; his government previously weathered major demonstrations, including the 2020–21 farmers' protests, without senior ministerial departures.