The Narendra Modi government on Monday introduced a bill to curb cheating and other unfair means in various public examinations. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, moved by the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions mentions the kinds of unfair means in examinations that are punishable by law once enacted, and the punishment for the offences. “The objective of the Bill is to bring greater transparency, fairness and credibility to the public examination systems and to reassure the youth that their sincere and genuine efforts will be fairly rewarded and their future is safe,” the bill stated.“The Bill is aimed at effectively and legally deterring persons, organised groups or institutions that indulge in various unfair means and adversely impact the public examination systems for monetary or wrongful gains,” the bill added.
Offences under this bill
The bill identifies the following unfair means and offences during public examinations. 1. Question paper or answer key leaks2. Participation in collusion with others to effect question paper or answer key leaks3. Accessing or taking possession of question paper or an Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) response sheet without authority
4. Providing solution to one or more questions by any unauthorised person during a public examination5. Directly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorisedly in the public examination6. Tampering with answer sheets including OMR response sheets;
7. Altering the assessment except to correct a bona fide error without any authority8. Willful violation of norms or standards set up by the central government for conduct of a public examination on its own or through its agency9. Tampering with any document necessary for short-listing of candidates or finalising the merit or rank of a candidate in a public examination10. Deliberate violation of security measures to facilitate unfair means in conduct of a public examination11. Tampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer system12. Manipulation in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts for the candidates to facilitate adopting unfair means in examinations13. Threatening the life, liberty or wrongfully restraining persons associated with the public examination authority or the service provider or any authorised agency of the Government; or obstructing the conduct of a public examination
14. Creation of fake website to cheat or for monetary gain
15. Conduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gain.
Examinations covered by the law
Any examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway Recruitment Boards (RRB), Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, Ministries or Departments of the Central Government and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff, National Testing Agency or other authority as may be notified by the Central Government, will be covered under this anti-cheating bill.
Punishment for offences
According to the draft bill, all the offences will be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. According to this bill, any individual or persons found guilty of unfair means and offences will be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three years, which may extend to five years and with fine up to ten lakh rupees. In case of default of payment of fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed, as per the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023:
The law entails that the service provider shall also be liable to be punished with imposition of a fine up to one crore rupees and proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered from such service provider and he/she shall also be barred from being assigned with any responsibility for the conduct of any public examination for a period of four years.
The draft bill stated that if an investigation finds the offence under this act has been committed with the consent or connivance of any director, senior management or the persons in-charge of the service provider firm, the guilty person shall be liable for imprisonment for a term not less than three years but which may extend to ten years and with fine of one crore rupees. “In case of default of payment of fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed as per the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Provided that until the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is brought into force, the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, shall be applicable in place of the said Act,” the bill stated.
The bill states that if a person or a group of individuals including the examination service provider are found guilty of organised crime, the punishment amounts to a minimum of five years of imprisonment which may extend to ten years. The guilty will be slapped with a minimum fine of ₹1 crore.
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
