Bill In Lok Sabha To Check Paper Leaks, Use Of Unfair Means In Govt Recruitment Exams
NEW DELHI, Feb 5: The Centre on Monday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to check malpractices in government recruitment exams such as paper leaks and fake websites, with strict penalties including a minimum jail term of three years and a fine up to Rs 1 crore.
At present, there is no specific substantive law to deal with unfair means adopted or offences committed by various entities involved in the conduct of public examinations by the central government and its agencies.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, introduced by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, mentions โleakage of question paper or answer keyโ, โdirectly or indirectly assisting the candidate in any manner unauthorisedly in the public examinationโ and โtampering with the computer network or a computer resource or a computer systemโ as offences done by a person, group of persons or institutions.
Besides these, โcreation of fake website to cheat or for monetary gainโ, โconduct of fake examination, issuance of fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or for monetary gainโ and โmanipulation in seating arrangements, allocation of dates and shifts for the candidates to facilitate adopting unfair means in examinationsโ are also among the offences punishable under the proposed law.
โAny person or persons resorting to unfair means and offences under this Act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three years but which may extend to five years and with fine up to ten lakh rupees,โ reads the bill.
A service provider, engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of examinations, shall also be liable to be punished with imposition of a fine up to Rs 1 crore โand proportionate cost of examination shall also be recoveredโ from it, according to the billโs provisions.
Such service providers shall also be barred from being assigned with any responsibility for the conduct of any public examination for a period of four years, it says.
The bill defines service provider as any agency, organisation, body, association of persons, business entity, company, partnership or single proprietorship firm, including its associates, sub-contractors and provider of support of any computer resource or any material, by whatever name it may be called, โwhich is engaged by the public examination authority for conduct of public examinationโ.
The bill has provisions to identify and effectively deal with organised gangs, mafia elements and those indulging in malpractices. It will not even spare government officials found in collusion with them.
The bill makes โthreatening 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 examinationโ as a punishable offence.
No person or group of persons or institutions shall collude or conspire to facilitate indulgence in any such unfair means, the proposed law says.
The bill bars any person, who is not entrusted or engaged with the work pertaining to the public examination or its conduct or who is not a candidate, from entering the premises of the examination centre, with intent to disrupt the conduct of the test.
โMalpractices in public examinations lead to delays and cancellation of examinations adversely impacting the prospects of millions of youth,โ reads the statement of objects and reasons of the bill.
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, it said.
โThe 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.
A candidate, which means a person who has been granted permission by the public examination authority to appear in public examination and includes a person authorised to act as a scribe on his behalf in the public examination, shall not be liable for action under the proposed legislation.
The bill shall serve as a model draft for states to adopt at their discretion.
โThis would aid states in preventing the criminal elements from disrupting conduct of their state level public examinations,โ the objects and reasons of the proposed law states.
An officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police shall investigate any offence mentioned in the proposed Act, it says.
The bill covers recruitment examinations 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) among others.
Ministries or departments of the central government and their attached and subordinate offices for recruitment of staff and any โauthority as may be notified by the central governmentโ for conduct of government job recruitment are under the ambit of the proposed legislation. (Agencies)
