BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday alleged that the Congress failed to ensure accountability in the 2016 Karnataka Class 12 Chemistry paper leak case, claiming that the office of the then Medical Education Minister was directly linked to the scandal.
Speaking during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, Chadha described the Karnataka incident as one of the “most damning” cases of examination malpractice.
He alleged that the Class 12 Pre-University Chemistry examination paper was leaked in 2016, forcing authorities to cancel the examination. According to him, the re-examination conducted around 20 days later was also cancelled after the question paper allegedly surfaced on WhatsApp before the test.
Chadha further claimed that the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested three persons during its probe, including the personal assistant of the then Medical Education Minister Sharan Patil.
Alleging that the minister’s personal assistant had leaked the examination paper in exchange for money, Chadha questioned why the then minister did not resign, saying moral responsibility rested with the department.
Targeting the Congress, the BJP MP alleged that despite the controversy, Sharan Patil was once again serving as a minister in the same department under the current Congress government in Karnataka, which he described as a failure of accountability.
Chadha made the remarks while supporting the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Thursday after being cleared earlier by the Lok Sabha.
The legislation seeks to strengthen the legal framework against paper leaks by providing for stricter penalties, time-bound investigations and fast-track trials.
During the debate, Chadha argued that examination paper leaks should be treated as organised crime involving insiders, logistics operators, printing presses, coaching mafias and solver gangs, rather than isolated incidents.
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