The Central government has notified a law to tackle unfair practices and question paper leaks in public exams.
Titled the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, this law came into effect on June 21. It aims to prevent and punish unfair practices in public examinations.
The Act addresses various unfair activities, including leaking question papers, tampering with answer sheets, manipulating seating arrangements, creating fake websites for cheating, and conducting fake exams.
The Bill proposing this law was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 5 and passed the next day. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on February 9. It received Presidential assent on February 12 and was notified in the Official Gazette by the Central government on June 21 (Friday).
The notification of the law comes amid nationwide controversy over alleged malpractices in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical college admissions. Similar concerns also led to the cancellation of the University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET).
Under the new Act, all offences are cognizable, non-bailable, and non-compoundable. Those using unfair means in public exams could face imprisonment for 3-5 years and a fine of up to ₹10 lakh.
Service providers engaged in conducting exams, if found guilty of unfair practices, may be fined up to ₹1 crore. They would also be required to cover the proportionate costs of the exam and be barred from conducting any public exams for four years.
Senior officials (Directors, Senior Management, persons in charge) of the service provider entity found complicit in unfair practices could face prison terms of three to ten years and fines of up to ₹1 crore.
Individuals or groups, including public exam authorities and service providers, found guilty of organized crime in relation to exam conduct, would face imprisonment of five to ten years and a fine of at least ₹1 crore.
Failure to pay the fine will result in additional imprisonment as per the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is enacted, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will apply, the Act states.
