- By Skand Vivek Dhar
- Thu, 08 Feb 2024 03:47 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The central government has introduced a new bill to curb incidents like cheating and paper leaks in recruitment exams across the country. This law will be applicable to exams conducted by the central government and will also enable states to formulate anti-cheating laws through this model bill. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and will be voted on in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The objectives of the bill state that due to malpractices in public exams, there are delays or cancellations, adversely affecting millions of youth. Currently, there is no specific law to deal with these crimes. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the elements taking advantage of the weaknesses in the examination system and effectively address them through a comprehensive central law.
The issue of cheating and paper leaks in exams was first raised by Jagran Prime. It was revealed that in the past seven years, more than 70 cases of paper leaks and exam fraud have come to light in the country, affecting over 1.5 million examinees. However, despite such a severe problem, two-thirds of our states are not considering making anti-cheating laws. Only three states – Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and Rajasthan – have enacted strict laws to prevent paper leak incidents. The shortcomings of existing laws and the need for a Central anti-cheating law were also highlighted in this regard.
The Central government has introduced the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024. This bill was presented in the Lok Sabha on February 5 and was passed in the house on January 6. It will be applicable to examinations conducted by the Central government's institutions, including the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Board, National Testing Agency, Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, and the departments and attached offices of the central government for recruitment.
This bill defines several offences related to public examinations for the first time. It prohibits any form of malpractice, collusion or conspiracy. This includes unauthorised access or leaks of question papers or answer keys, assisting candidates during a public examination, tampering with computer networks or resources, tampering with documents for shortlisting or with the merit list or rank, organising fake exams for monetary gain, issuing fake admit cards, and more.
The law would also aim to prevent unauthorised individuals from entering examination centres with the intent to disclose confidential information related to the examination ahead of time or to cause disruption in the examination. Those found guilty of these offences could face imprisonment for 3 to 5 years and fines of up to Rs 10 lakh.
Strict Punishment For Organised Crime
This law provides separate punishments for organised crimes that carry out incidents of paper leaks and cheating. Individuals involved in organised crimes will face a punishment of five to ten years and a minimum fine of one crore rupees. If an organisation is found guilty of committing an organised crime, its property will be confiscated and seized. The cost of the examination will also be recovered from them.
Service Providers Will Also Be Held Accountable
In this law, service providers involved in publishing papers and providing computers, etc., are also made accountable. According to the bill, if there is a violation of the provisions of the bill, service providers will have to inform the police and the relevant examination authority. Failure to report such incidents will be considered a crime. If the service provider itself is involved in the crime, the examination officer will have to inform the police. Service providers found guilty of such crimes will face fines of up to one crore rupees. The cost of the investigation will also be recovered from them. In addition, they will also be prohibited from conducting public examinations for four years.
If it is proven that crimes involving service providers have been committed with the consent or collusion of a director or senior management, such individuals will be held personally responsible. They will face imprisonment ranging from three to ten years and a fine of one crore rupees.
Law Will Serve As A Model Draft For States
The central government believes that once this bill becomes law, it will serve as a 'model draft' for the states. It will assist state governments in dealing with criminal elements that obstruct the conduct of their state-level public examinations. However, adopting it will depend on the discretion of the states.
Supreme Court lawyer and author of the book 'Unmasking VIP', Virag Gupta, says that the intention of this bill is quite good. However, past experience shows that the police and investigative agencies only catch small players who forward solver gangs or paper leaks. Paper leaks are also happening in the state's PSC and army exams. This is not possible without the involvement of high officials.
Gupta says that according to this bill, creating fake websites and conducting fake exams for cheating and financial gain is a cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable offense. After the bill becomes law, action should be taken first against the 20 fake universities declared by the UGC. These universities are operating in Delhi and several other states. The UGC exposes such fake universities twice a year. However, no action is taken against them by the government and police officials.
(Note: This story has been translated by Ankit Kumar for Jagran English.)