THE GOVERNMENT on Monday introduced a Bill in Lok Sabha to penalise 'malpractices in public examinations' with jail term of 3 to 10 years and fine which can extend to over Rs 1 crore.

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, is applicable to central recruitment and entrance exams conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS), and National Testing Agency (NTA).

The NTA conducts exams for admission to higher educational institutions, like the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for engineering, National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical, and Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate and post-graduate studies.

Apart from these designated public examination authorities, all central ministries and departments, as well as their offices for recruitment, will also come under the purview of the new law when passed.

While the Bill provides punishment for 'persons, organised groups or institutions' indulging in unfair means for 'monetary or wrongful gains', candidates appearing for the exams have been left out of its purview.

Section 3 of the Bill defines 'unfair means' as 'any act or omission done or caused to be done by any person or group of persons or institutions, and include but not be restricted to, any of the following acts for monetary or wrongful gain: leakage of question paper or answer key or part thereof; participating in collusion with others to effect leakage of question paper or answer key; accessing or taking possession of question paper or an optical mark recognition response sheet without authority.'

Section 9 states that all offences shall be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.

The Bill provides for harsher punishment for 'organised' paper leaks, defining the offence as an 'unlawful activity committed by a person or a group of persons indulging in unfair means in collusion and conspiracy to pursue or promote a shared interest for wrongful gain in respect of a public examination'.

To know more about the bill https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/bill-seeks-10-yrs-jail-1cr-fine-for-those-cheating-in-public-exams/articleshow/107442250.cms