Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday, 29 July wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding a Central probe into 11 cases of examination paper leaks in Punjab over the past four years. The SAD leader argued that the alleged multi-crore scam has denied justice to an estimated five lakh students and that the state government lacks the will to investigate its own ministers.

Key Allegations Against the AAP Government

Badal charged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has actively suppressed the scandal rather than pursued accountability. She alleged that despite documented lapses in the Education Department, the Health Department, and the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board (PSSSB), no senior official or minister has faced action.

'Neither have Education Minister Harjot Bains and Health Minister Balbir Singh been sacked nor has the Chief Minister owned moral responsibility as the minister in-charge of the Subordinate Services Selection Board,' she said.

The Cover-Up Claim and Court Intervention

The SAD MP alleged the AAP government has been running a 'cover-up exercise', publicly asserting that no paper leaks occurred — a position she said contradicts Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's own admission. She cited a 13 March 2023 post by Mann on social media in which he acknowledged that the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET) paper had been leaked.

Badal also pointed to the Pharmacy Officers examination, where the government admitted 'grave irregularities' — including an organised mafia that allegedly charged candidates ₹13 lakh each and used Bluetooth devices to relay answers — while stopping short of conceding an outright paper leak. She claimed the paper was, in fact, leaked from inside examination centres using pre-planted staff.

The irregularities have also reached the judiciary. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has reportedly stepped in to stay recruitment proceedings in several cases, including the Excise Inspectors examination.

Scale of the Alleged Scam: Examinations Affected

Badal listed the major cases she says constitute a pattern of systemic failure:

The Naib Tehsildar paper leak affected approximately 42,000 students; the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) leak affected one lakh students; the PSEB Class XII English paper leak affected 2.5 lakh students; the Agriculture Development Officers paper leak affected 4,100 students; and the PSSSB Group B Officers paper leak affected a further one lakh students. She also flagged anomalies such as unusually high pass rates from specific examination centres and alleged manipulation of interview scores.

What Happens Next

Badal's letter to the Home Minister is a formal escalation aimed at triggering a Central investigation, bypassing the Punjab state machinery entirely. The AAP government in Punjab has not responded publicly to the latest demand. With the High Court already monitoring select cases and five lakh students' futures in the balance, pressure on both the state and Centre to act is likely to intensify in the coming weeks.