All About New “Anti-Paper Leak Law”: Punishments and Need of the Law Explained
Amid the leak of various examination papers, including NEET UG 2024 and UGC NET, the ‘anti-cheating’ bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, came into the limelight.
The anti-cheating bill was passed to check various fraudulent practices, such as the leak of exam papers in government recruitment exams.
President Droupadi Murmu cleared the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill in February 2024, which later became a law.
The law was enacted to curb the malpractices and leaks in the exams conducted by various organizations such as NTA, SSC, UPSC, etc., in entrance tests such as CUET, JEE, and NEET.
Punishments under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024
The punishments under the Anti-Leak Act propose that following unfair means in the conduct of the examination is a punishable offense. The person can be fined up to ₹10 lakh along with imprisoned from three to five years.
However, if an individual, a group, or a group of individuals commits an organized crime involving examination authorities or any other institutions, they are entitled to a minimum fine of ₹1 crore with imprisonment of five to ten years.
The law also mentions that a police officer of the rank of assistant commissioner of police or deputy superintendent of police will be responsible for carrying out the investigation process under the Act.
Need of the law
Union minister Jitendra Singh emphasized that the leak of question papers has become too prevalent in the last few years.
Moreover, this form of organized crime has also affected the lives, interests, and mental conditions of lakhs of students when the examinations and tests are canceled.
Jitendra Singh also elaborated on the significance and need of the bill.
The ET noted, Jitendra Singh further added,
“In the recent past, many states have had to cancel or were unable to declare the results of their public examinations due to the adverse impact of unfair practices and means adopted by antisocial criminal elements. These unfair practices, if not effectively prevented and deterred, will continue to jeopardize the future and careers of millions of aspiring youths of this country. In many instances, it has been observed that organized groups and mafia elements are involved. They deploy solver gangs, impersonation methods, and indulge in paper leaks. The Bill primarily aims to deter such kinds of nefarious elements.”
