New Delhi: The Modi government is all set to introduce a Bill to amend the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 in Lok Sabha next week, which proposes to enhance punishment with jail term of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 50 lakh on those involved in leakages of question paper or answer key and other malpractices in conduct of public examination.
In the 2024 law, the jail term was five years and the maximum fine was Rs 10 lakh.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 proposes that the service provider shall be liable to be punished with imposition of a fine up to Rs 5 crore
Proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered from them apart from being barred from being assigned with any responsibility for the conduct of any public examination for eight years. In the 2024 law, the fine was Rs 1 crore and debarment was for a period of four years.
A “service provider” means any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, subcontractors and provider of support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name it may be called, which is engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of public examination.
Public examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Boards, 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 (NTA) and any other such authority will come under the ambit of this law.
The Bill was cleared Friday by the Union Cabinet and is likely to be introduced Monday in the Lok Sabha.
The introduction of the amended Bill will come in the backdrop of the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following the protests over NEET-UG paper leak. The protests have led to a complete washout of the Monsoon session of Parliament that started 20 July.
The amended Bill, circulated to all Lok Sabha MPs Saturday and seen by ThePrint, states that senior management or the persons in-charge of the service provider firm will face between 5 years to 10 years in jail with fine of Rs 5 crore if investigation establishes their consent or connivance in the offence. In the 2024 law, the jail term varied between three to ten years and the fine was Rs 1 crore.
In case of default of payment of fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Setting up of fast-track courts for speedy probe
A new Section 12 has been introduced in the amended Bill for fast tracked investigation and special fast track courts.
Two subsections under Section 12 says that the investigation shall be completed by an officer within two months from the date on which the information was recorded by the officer in-charge of the police station; or by a central investigating agency, within two months from the date the case was referred to it.
Such cases can also be investigated by a Special Task Force, within two months from the date of issuance of notification on behalf of the central government.
To ensure a speedy trial, the amendments propose that states and Union Territories shall, in consultation with their Chief Justices designate a Court of Session to be a Special Fast Track Court to try offences under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act.
Stringent fine for organised crime
The amended Bill also proposes imprisonment between seven to 10 years and a maximum fine of Rs 10 crore for a person or a group of persons, including the examination authority or service provider or any other institution committing an organised crime. In the 2024 law, the imprisonment varied between 5 years to 10 years and the fine was Rs 1 crore.
In case of default in payment of fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed under the provisions of the BNS.
An “organised crime” has been defined 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.”
The Bill’s statements of objects and reasons state that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 was enacted to “prevent resorting to unfair means in public examinations.”
However, “in recent years, there have been some incidents of question paper leakages and malpractices in examinations conducted by public examination authorities, which tend to affect the transparency and fairness of the public examinations system.”
It is to “strengthen the fairness, to enhance the credibility of the public examinations system and to facilitate speedy trial and ensure time bound investigations of offences” that the amendments are being proposed, the statement of objects and reason states.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: The rise and fall of Dharmendra Pradhan: How ‘quiet’ BJP leader lost the plot with NEET backlash